Tuition is increasing to add more student support to the college, according to Alicia Moore, dean of students and enrollment services at Central Oregon Community College. Tuition will be increasing from $82 to $87 per credit hour. This tuition increase will be effective beginning summer 2013. Out-of-district tuition will also be increasing from $108 to $113, and out-of-state tuition will go from $220 to $230.

The increases are due in part to an increase in basic costs for the college, according to Moore.
“It’s a multi-prong reason, we have some basic costs like utilities that go up,” Moore explained. “That’s not the most exciting thing to have to pay for, but we do have to pay for those things.”
Another factor in the increase was the addition of more full-time faculty positions, Moore said.
“We were able to take several faculty positions that were temporary positions and make those permanent,” Moore said. “[Those positions] are in some of our higher demand areas in order to help students be successful in their programs and meet their degree requirements.”
There is no direct link between the decrease in enrollment and the increase in tuition rates, according to Ron Paradis, director of College Relations at COCC.
“Enrollment rates and tuition increases are not tied together directly,” Paradis said. “Enrollment is slightly down this year, but tuition and enrollment don’t really cross.”
After the tuition increase, COCC is projected to have the second-lowest community college tuition in Oregon, according to Paradis.
“Even with the tuition raise,” Paradis said, “COCC is projected to still have the second lowest of all 17 community colleges in Oregon.”
Tuition will now make up 49.4 percent of the overall college’s income, according to Paradis.
The tuition increases will be effective in providing more student support, according to Moore.
“Our tuition increases are fairly reasonable. We’ve not had negative reactions from students,” Moore said. ”Because of these increases we’re able to add faculty in important areas and add more support for student success.”

–Molly Svendsen

The Broadside

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