PVCC Puma Press: April 2006

The Maricopa County Community College District Governing Board voted on March 28 to raise tuition from $60 to $65 per credit hour for the 2006-2007 school year.

The District’s operations budget has an estimated deficit of $1.2 million, according to Gaye Murphy, assistant vice chancellor for Maricopa Community Colleges.

The decision calls for a $5 increase per credit hour, as well as a $17 increase per credit hour for those students paying out-of-state tuition. The registration fee that is paid per semester will also be raised from $5 to $15, but the graduation fee will be completely eliminated. Students will still pay the $25 commencement fee to participate in a graduation ceremony. The increases will affect all Maricopa Community Colleges equally.

The money gained from the tuition hike will be used for full-time teaching positions, supplemental enrollments, a new student system geared towards development and growth and operating costs, according to Murphy. The increase will help to increase financial aid up to $2 million and allow the Maricopa Community Colleges to have discretionary money to spend freely.

“For several years we have been trying to do more things like give more full-time positions to teachers,” says Murphy.

The budget for Maricopa County Colleges is funded from three sources: property taxes, state aid and tuition and fees. Property taxes make up 56 percent of the budget. “As the property value increases, a revenue from tax on property can only have a 2 percent increase,” says Murphy

State aid makes up about 12 percent of the budget, and tuition and fees make up the remaining 25 percent.

At the board meeting, the tuition increase was evaluated among governing board members, Don Campbell, Scott Crowley, Ed Contreras, Linda Rosenthal and Jerry Walker.

The five members voted and passed the tuition hike.

“There was not much discussion,” says Murphy. “No students spoke out.”

Although students were not there to speak out, one of the governing board members, Jerry Walker did vote against the increase intuition. He was interested in looking at alternative solutions to the estimated deficit problem besides the tuition increase.

A year ago the board voted for a similar $5 per credit hour increase.

“We are trying to bring more expenditures in line with revenues,” says Murphy.

The newly approved increase will be effective in the fall 2006 semester.