Roanoke Times
Copyright (c) 1995, Landmark Communications, Inc.
DATE: FRIDAY, March 27, 1992 TAG: 9203270234
SECTION: VIRGINIA PAGE: A-1 EDITION: METRO
SOURCE: MADELYN ROSENBERG HIGHER EDUCATION WRITER
DATELINE: LENGTH: Medium
Members of the state Board for Community Colleges have voted to increase tuition 17 percent starting this summer, but after making the decision they said they were concerned the move went against the mission of providing "an access to education" for the people who want it.
Robert C. Wrenn, a board member from Emporia, said raising tuition was a necessity. "But I regret we have to have it. I think we're hurting the people we need to serve the most."
Administrators, too, appeared concerned that some students would have problems shouldering the increase - from $35 to $41 per credit hour for instate students. But they said there were no other choices.
"I think this was the lesser of two evils," said Bill Snyder, president of Wytheville Community College. "Without it, we'd have a substantial reduction in both our availability and quality.
"It's a hard choice. But sometimes you have to make hard choices."
They had known for months that there would be an increase to offset state budget cuts. It was just a question of how much. The board voted on the increase after a work session on Wednesday.
The 17 percent, in actual dollars, may seem insignificant to those paying for four-year educations at public or private universities, said Mark Emick, assistant to the president at Virginia Western. "But it's not. It depends on your economic level. If you have a moderate or low income, then this increase is very significant."
A full load of 15 hours will cost $615 a semester, up from $525.
"If a tuition increase is difficult in good times, then it's much more difficult when the economy is as poor as it is now," Emick said.
Kristi Terry, 19 and president of student government at Virginia Western, is graduating in May and won't have to cope with the increase. But she said she is worried about the students who will.
"I think it will cut down on the people who come here," she said. "They may think, `If it costs this much, why not go to a four-year school?' "
Terry, who lives in Franklin County, paid much of her way through college, working two jobs. Had the tuition been higher, she said, "It would have been really bothersome. This is a community college and you'd think they'd keep prices down. When the money comes out of your own pocket, an increase like this really does affect you."
Mark Rowh, spokesman for New River Community College, was quick to point out that the state would be setting aside more financial aid for students.
"And with our private foundation, we're raising funds for scholarships. We're doing everything we can to offset this."
But there are no guarantees that sufficient aid will be available for all students who need it, said Chancellor Arnold R. Oliver. He also worried that many students might not be aware that financial aid is available.
The board passed a resolution calling for community college presidents to improve efforts to inform students about financial aid programs.
In these trying economic times, administrators are quick to count their blessings. We may have it bad, they say, but the four-year colleges and universities, public and private, have it worse.
Students seem to agree.
"If I were going to Roanoke College or Hollins, I'd be paying a lot more for the same classes," said Les Atkins, who moved from Crewe to Roanoke to attend the community college.
Denise Bain, who is attending Virginia Western on a Pell grant, also said that the increase wouldn't affect her too much. "Private colleges would be so much more," she said.
But the mission of the community college has always been to provide easy - and therefore inexpensive - access to education. Any increase takes away from that, Emick said.
In 1988, when Virginia's community colleges went to the semester system, tuition was $26.60 per credit hour.
Meanwhile, North Carolina's community colleges, still on thequarter system, charge just over $11 for each credit hour.
Tuition increases everywhere reflect what Snyder fears is a growing trend to have people, instead of government, pay for their education.
"I would rather see this as a response to short-term need rather than as Virginia's policy," he said.
Virginia Western's Emick has hopes that the increase itself will be a short-term solution, and that it will be decreased when the economy turns around.
"We did that once in the 1980s," he said.
The Associated Press contributed to this story.
by CNB