MCCC to raise tuition next year

March 27, 2013

Tuition is going up again at Maricopa County Community Colleges after the governing board approved a second tuition hike in three years. The decision, which came last night, will mean another $12.5 million in revenues for the district.

Students at the 10 Maricopa County Community Colleges will pay an extra $5 per credit hour starting this fall.  That works out to about $150 a year for full-time students. 

The funds will put at least one armed guard on duty on each campus while students are present, but most of the money will also pay for improvements to technology and student services. 

“The reality is the infrastructure we have in place, 10 campuses around the county, the cost to run those and keep them operational and providing the kind of services people in the county are used to, that’s not gonna go down,” said district spokesman Tom Gariepy.

Gariepy said state funding for the district has dropped some $60 million in the last few years.

The district administration also asked the governing board to approve an additional 2 percent increase to the property tax levy. Gariepy said the district is expecting an extra $8 million this year in property tax revenues, due to new construction on previously empty lots.

 

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