New fees and tuition increases are being discussed once again. The Board of Education tabled a vote on these new increases at the April 11 meeting and so this has only pushed a possible vote to the May 9 meeting. The proposal, presented in PowerPoint by Natalya Brown, Interim CFO, and Dr. Kacy Crabtree, Provost, is shown below.
For context, using the figures presented from the UCC Spring 2015 Schedule, as well as the Spring 2016, Spring 2017 and Spring 2018 figures from the same books, this is how per credit tuition has risen over that time: Spring 2016 per credit was $95.50; Spring 2017 per credit was $104.50; Spring 2017 was $105.50; Spring 2018 is $112.50.
Per credit cost is broken down into three categories: Oregon Resident Tuition per credit, Global fee per credit, and legacy fee per credit. None of these figures reflect so-called “other fees” as described in the schedules as things like Student Insurance Fee or UCC Online class fee per course.
What this all means is that if the proposal passes, as currently presented, students would see a $5 per credit increase. For a 12-credit student, for example, that would be an increase of $60 before fees kick in. If that student was taking a class that falls under the “New Lab Fee” that would be an increase of $160 not including whatever increases may happen with the “various instructional fees.”
As for the reason for this proposal, my editor obtained a statement from Dr. Deb Thatcher as furnished by Dr. Thatcher’s executive assistant Robynne Wilgus through an email:
“In the face of inadequate funding from the State, the addition of a lab fee will allow us to continue to offer expensive programs in the science, mathematics, technology, and engineering programs. The proposal to the Board of Education states that labs will be assessed a $100 flat fee to account for high instructional costs required to deliver labs. Our proposal to assess a flat fee, regardless of the number of credits, is more student friendly than what is charged by many other colleges that have differential tuition.”
According to two other slides (shown in the center right) UCC’s Resources by Type shows that State Funding is near historical highs, Tuition and Fees are around the middle of the road, and Property Taxes have risen steadily year after year. The other slide, Update on FY18 Budget, shows that the school forecasted roughly $1.1 million more than what was actually achieved in the General Fund; the school is still in the black by $1.9 million in that fund.
The proposal budget for 2018-2019 provides one last look at the General Fund for the upcoming fiscal year. According to the same packet, all the proposed fees and increases are included in this graphic.
