LBCC Budget Includes Tuition Increase

Once again the LBCC tuition is changing.  When LBCC was established in 1966, tuition was $60 per term for a full-time student. Currently, tuition is $91 per credit, clocking in around $1,092 to be full-time for one term.

Jim Huckestein,

Vice President,

Finance and Operations.

Tuition increased $7 starting this summer term.  According to Jim Huckestein, vice-president of finance and operations, it is expected that tuition will increase an additional $5, once the 2012 summer term starts.  Many students are asking how this will affect them. Some individuals receiving financial aid may be wondering if financial aid will increase with the tuition rise.

Huckestein  said LBCC Financial Aid calculates their financial aid budget by factoring expenses such as room and board, tuition, fees, books and supplies. In turn, if tuition increases than the budget will as well.  However, not everyone will qualify for an increase in their financial aid. Certain types of financial aid are at a  fixed amount, such as the Pell grant, while loans, on the other hand, are subject to change.



Carol Schaafsma,

Executive Vice President,

Academic Affairs and Workforce

Development.

In order to cut back on costs, the LBCC board has decided to reduce teacher wages and to suspend some classified employees.  The faculty costs were reduced by eliminating positions and by leaving certain positions vacant. The faculty positions that were eliminated were in the counseling office, math, education/family studies, and the business technology department.  However, some of those classes will still be offered only to part-time employees.

Classes saw a cut as well, with reductions in Automotive Technology, Business Technology and welding classes.  They have decided to terminate the Emergency Medical Technician program, which will not be available next year.

“Several programs were asked to look at the classes required to complete their two-year degrees and to reduce requirements to total 90 credits,” said Carol Schaafsma, executive vice-president of academic affairs and workforce development.  “We had many majors that required more than 90 credits to complete the degree.”

 

Greg Hamann,

 President.

Huckestein reported that the state funding for community colleges has been declining, while enrollment continues to go up.  For the 2007-08 fiscal year, it was estimated that the state would pay $3,117 for each student, which has now dropped to $1,700 along with increased costs that LBCC has little control over, such as the teacher pensions and the cost of health insurance. “If we were prudent in building our budget for the 2011-12 year, stabilize enrollment over time through the pursuit of things like “Student Success and Completion,” and able to rein in escalating costs, then we can look forward to future years that are much more fiscally stable than the one we just ended… and this will be very good indeed,” said Greg Hamann, president of LBCC.

Throughout the next school year things should start looking up for students, which could mean the lowering of tuition in the coming years.