Tuition rates at Washtenaw Community College going up about 6.25 percent
Students at Washtenaw Community College will pay $5 more per credit hour next school year.
File photo
The college's Board of Trustees recently voted to increase tuition rates by $5 per credit hour beginning with the fall 2011 semester, spokeswoman Janet Hawkins said today.
Hawkins said the board reviews tuition and fees annually and voted unanimously March 22 in favor of the tuition rate increase.
The new tuition rates are about 6.25 percent higher than current rates, said board ChairwomanPam Horiszny. She said a number of factors contributed to the board’s decision, including potential cuts to state appropriations.
“At this point our state appropriations have not been cut,” Horiszny said. “We know there’s discussion in the legislature for a cut somewhere in the range of 3 to 5 percent.”
She added, “Also the amount we have to send back to the state for retirement has gone up 20 percent.”
Horiszny also cited diminishing property tax values in Washtenaw County as another factor.
“We’re projecting a 4 percent decline in property tax revenue and the county projection was higher than that,” she said.
Horiszny added, “You can see there are a lot of forces coming together here that are impacting our bottom line."
She said the university must “cover current operating expenses,” and it has “done (its) best to keep tuition as affordable as possible.”
“I think that when you combine tuition with the cost of books it’s a significant amount of money, and we’re looking at different ways we can somehow reduce that overall package,” she said.
• Click here to view a chart of current tuition and fees effective fall 2010.
Heather Lockwood is a reporter for AnnArbor.com. Reach her at heatherlockwood@annarbor.com or follow her on Twitter.
Comments
loves_fall
Wed, Mar 30, 2011 : 2:30 a.m.
Maybe in exchange for this inconvenience they'll finally offer BIO 103 in anything but the middle of the day once a year. Seriously. I hope someone at WCC is reading this.
major2mommy
Thu, Mar 31, 2011 : 12:38 a.m.
There are quite a few classes that are only available during the day. It definitely makes it more difficult for those of us who can only take night courses. However, by opening up more classes during those "off peak" times means either hiring more teachers or paying them more, which in turn will raise the cost of tuition as well.
godsbreath64
Wed, Mar 30, 2011 : 4:55 p.m.
Upper WCC administration is notoriously thick-headed and vain. Even the staff thinks so.
LAEL
Wed, Mar 30, 2011 : 1:20 p.m.
Have you tried complaining to the department chair?
Cash
Wed, Mar 30, 2011 : 10:55 a.m.
For your sake, I hope so too! Frustrating, I'm sure.
local
Wed, Mar 30, 2011 : 12:12 a.m.
I guess WCC doesn't need any funds from Snyder and the School Aid Fund that was meant for K-12. This is a prime example of why colleges and community colleges don't need any money from that fund. So while school districts are facing huge deficits, our community colleges get more. Go figure!!
BroncoJoe
Tue, Mar 29, 2011 : 11:33 p.m.
Books are almost a bigger issue than tuition at Washtenaw CC. The books for a class often amount to half as much as the tuition for a class, and sometimes more. So many kids have laptops, iPads, etc. - how about mandating that text books be made available as a download, online, or some other way that could be much more affordable? Does it make sense to anyone that a class that costs $350 has books that cost $150-$200?
loves_fall
Wed, Mar 30, 2011 : 2:31 a.m.
Anyone who pays full price for their books is nuts. Try Amazon or some other used textbook site, buy from a friend and save some money. The only really annoying thing that I know WCC has dabbled with (and I hope they've stopped) is requiring the online "companion" sites for some of the textbooks. I got stuck with an eReader for Physics and it was the worst and most expensive learning experience I've ever had.