The presidents and chancellors of Missouri's community colleges have agreed to ask their boards of trustees to keep tuition increases at or below $5 a credit hour for the 2011-2012 school year.
"Affordability is one of the greatest strengths of our state's community colleges," said Missouri Community College Association chairman and Ozarks Technical Community College president Dr. Hal Higdon.
"This year, community college tuition is about a third as expensive as public university tuition," Higdon said. "We think that our relatively low cost, together with the high quality of the programs we offer, has led to the dramatic enrollment increases community colleges have experienced."
College leaders had anticipated budget cuts of 10-20% for the upcoming fiscal year. To offset those cuts, most colleges initially planned tuition increases well above $5. Higdon credits better-than-expected budget news with his colleagues' decision to seek lower tuition.
"Governor Nixon recommended a 7% reduction in funding for college operating budgets. You never want to get cut, but we had all built budgets based on much tougher numbers. The governor's recommendations allowed us to revise our plans significantly," Higdon said.
The presidents and chancellors will make their recommendations to college boards of trustees, which have final authority to make decisions about tuition. Governor Nixon's budget recommendations will be considered the legislature.
"We're looking forward to working with the House and Senate on community college funding," Dr. Higdon said, adding, "and we think we're starting in a pretty good position, all things considered."
Missouri's community colleges are governed by locally elected boards of trustees. The colleges work together to advance common agendas through the Missouri Community College Association, or MCCA.