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Highlands Today

SFCC Tuition Goes Up Slightly

Jesse Osbourne/Highlands Today

From left: Alicia Nottingham and William Barbour browse the shelves of the library at South Florida Community College on Thursday morning.

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By MANDY SHEETS | Highlands Today

Published: October 26, 2007

AVON PARK — Tuition for South Florida Community College students will be increasing 5 percent in response to a shortfall in statewide tax revenue.

Unless Gov. Charlie Crist vetoes the budget-cutting bill passed by the House and Senate before Saturday, the increase will become effective for the spring semester.

The cost for Florida residents will increase from $67.95 to $71.74 per credit hour for the spring term, which begins in January 2008.

The impact of the increase on a resident carrying a minimal full-time course load of 12 hours will be $56.85 more in tuition per semester.

Out-of-state tuition will increase from $255.73 to $270.09 per credit hour.

SFCC President Norman Stephens said at Wednesday's Board of Trustees meeting that he was "reluctant" to recommend increasing tuition.

"One of our goals is to keep the cost to a bare minimum," Stephens said. "The good news is virtually all of our students who are in economic need have financial aid and will not be affected. We work very hard to make sure there are no financial barriers to education."

More financial aid will be made available

to pay the increased tuition for these students.

Mallory Strall has a full scholarship for volleyball that will cover the cost of the increase.

"It's hard enough trying to budget for everything, having a scholarship," Strall said. "I can't imagine if I was responsible for tuition, too, so I feel bad for those students who have to pay more money now."

Marshall Merritt pays his tuition but said he doesn't think the 5 percent increase is unreasonable.

"It won't be too bad because the tuition is pretty low," Merritt said. "I think I can live with 5 percent."

William Shaffer, SFCC vice president for governmental relations and planning and institutional effectiveness, said the governor has received many letters from community college students who support the tuition increase.

"The general consensus is that they understand why the increase is necessary, even though no one really wants it to happen," Shaffer said.

Glenn Little, vice president for administrative services, said the tuition increase will generate about $62,000 for the spring semester, if enrollment continues as expected.

SFCC's state revenue will be reduced by $438,000, if the budget-cutting bill becomes law. Nonrecurring funds of $116,000 from the legislature and the tuition increase reduce the total revenue cut to $260,000.

"Considering we have a $22 million budget, this is a small percentage of adjustment, and it's something we can certainly do," Little said. "It could have been much worse."

Little said the difference will be made up by holding off on major equipment purchases, reducing travel budgets, deferring filling some vacant positions and making minor cuts to office supply budgets.

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