Shared student fees remain stable; special programs see small rises
Grants Pass, OR – Coming as welcome news to many Southern Oregon college students, the Rogue Community College (RCC) Board of Education unanimously approved keeping tuition rates steady for the upcoming 2022-23 academic year.
“We know that the impacts of COVID continue to affect our students’ budgets and holding tuition steady helps them financially in realizing their academic goals,” said RCC President Cathy Kemper-Pelle.
Historically, the 2021-22 academic year saw a tuition increase of $4 per credit hour, moving the previous rate from $116 to $120 per credit. RCC then became the recipient of federal American Rescue Plan Act (ARPA) funding and was able to use that funding to offset the $4 per credit hour increase for students enrolled in the 2021-22 academic year. RCC students’ tuition effectively remained at $116 per credit.
“In RCC’s planning for the upcoming 2022-23 academic year, when there will be no ARPA funding to offset tuition increases, we felt it would be a disservice to students to raise tuition above the 2021-22 approved rate of $120 per credit for in-state students,” said Kemper-Pelle. “The board also made no changes to out-of-state and international student tuition rates from the previous year.”
“Tuition is just one source of operating revenue and one that directly impacts our students’ ability to attend RCC,” said Kemper-Pelle. “Along with our Board’s decision to hold tuition rates steady, we are implementing a college-wide prioritization process that will reduce operating costs. We are also seeking to increase enrollment to generate more tuition revenue and higher state funding levels. These measures ensure our students benefit from more affordable tuition. Increased enrollment also strengthens the local economy and employment pipeline by preparing more people for the workplace.”
While there is no general fee at RCC, there are two fees that all students do pay: the college service fee and the tech fee. The RCC Board also voted to keep these shared student fees unchanged for the coming academic year. Other college fees are dependent upon each students’ individual courses or programs in which they are enrolled. A nursing student with lab courses will have a totally different set of fees than an adult basic education student or a student taking required courses for an AAOT degree. The Board of Education did approve some increases in these course specific fees.
With a look to the future, RCC’s spring term enrollment, according to staff, is showing a promising trend upward with total credit and non-credit enrollments up by just over 5%.
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For general media inquiries, please contact Kelly Gonzales, Public Information Officer and Marketing Director at 541-955-7525, KGonzales@roguecc.edu.