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GCCC board OKs rise in tuition costs
Published 2/9/2012 in Local News
By RACHAEL GRAY
rgray@gctelegram.com
Garden City Community College students will face an increase in tuition for the 2012-13 year, the Board of Trustees decided at Wednesday night's board meeting.
Tuition will be $50 per credit hour for in-state students and $70 for out-of-state students. Both rates are rising by $5 from present levels, and the college also will add a new $65 rate for students from nearby and bordering states, including Colorado, Oklahoma, Nebraska and Missouri, as well as Texas and New Mexico.¬ For international students, tuition will increase from $67 to $90 per credit hour.
In most semesters, approximately 60 percent of GCCC students come from Finney County, with about 30 percent from other Kansas counties.¬ Approximately 10 percent come from other states and nations, according to Steve Quakenbush, GCCC director of information services.
The board also approved to increase student fees by $1, from $26 to $27 per credit hour.
Despite the raises, Herbert Swender, GCCC president, said the college remains one of the most affordable in the state.
Swender called the increase in tuition and fees "very modest."
"Even by looking at what is passed for our new rates, we're definitely in the bottom quartile of being an affordable place for students to go to college," he said.
Right now, according to rates reviewed by the board, tuition ranges from $27.50 to $81 per credit hour among the 19 Kansas community colleges, and only four are lower than GCCC.¬
For the 2011-12 year, GCCC's tuition and fees combined were $71 per credit hour. Coffeyville Community College ranked cheapest in the state at $60, followed by Allen Community College at $65, Seward County Community College at $67 and Independence Community College at $70.50.
Johnson County Community College was the most expensive in the state at $96 per credit hour for tuition and fees, followed by Highland Community College at $94, Cloud County Community College at $93 and Colby Community College at $92, according to board materials from GCCC.
A comparison drawn earlier this year indicated that tuition is 58 to 80 percent higher at the state universities of Kansas than at GCCC, according to Quakenbush.
Dr. William Clifford, board member, asked Swender if he thought the tuition increases would limit students' access to the college.
Swender said from his past experience and studies done on the issue, he didn't think it would.
"We're so far under what the mean (cost) is for the state of Kansas," he said.
Swender emphasized the importance of students taking advantage of scholarships offered by the Endowment Association. For the 2011-12 school year, some of those scholarships were unused, he said.
The board also accepted the president's recommendation to increase room rates by $200 per year in the GCCC Residential Life complex, but offer a $200 discount to students who complete their full-time enrollment by the 20th day of the semester.¬ Accommodations currently cost $2,100 annually in the West Residential Hall and East Units, or $2,850 in the Residential Apartments.
"There's no increase for housing if you take care of your paperwork by July 1. It's just an extra incentive for people to take care of their business," he said.
He said even if students have their paperwork filled out and turned in by July 1, they don't have to pay for classes by that deadline and can still change their schedules around.
Meal plan costs will remain unchanged at $2,400 per year for students who select 19 meals per week in the campus cafeteria, or $2,350 for those choosing 15 weekly meals.
Over the past six years, GCCC tuition has increased an average of two percent per year, and actually remained unchanged for three of those six years.¬ Student fees have gone up on once in six years, according to Quakenbush.
Board members also noted that campus child care fees will remain level for the new year that will begin July 1, at $2.50 per hour; and that charges will stay the same for adult education, including $35 for GED and English as a Second Language orientation, $50 for unofficial GED practice testing and $85 for official GED tests.¬
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