College District Board OKs Tuition IncreaseMarch 25th, 2008
By Tammy Gray-Searles
A $4 per credit hour increase in tuition at Northland Pioneer College (NPC) was approved by the Navajo County Community College District Governing Board Tuesday.
For full-time students, the increase means that it will cost $384 more than the previous year to attend classes at NPC. The raise in tuition is expected to generate an additional $250,000 in revenue for the college. Documentation supporting the increase noted, “Continuing constraints on property tax levies and possible state aid reversions increase the importance of maintaining steady tuition revenue growth.”
Even with the increase, NPC remains one of the least expensive community colleges in the state. Com-pared to anticipated tuition amounts for full-time students at other community colleges, only Eastern Arizona College will have lower tuition. If tuition increases are made as anticipated around the state, tuition for full-time students will be $1,380 for students at EAC, $1,440 at NPC, $1,470 at Cochise, $1,530 at Pima, $1,620 at Yavapai, $1,652 at Central, $1,680 at Arizona Western, $1,768 at Coconino, $1,770 at Mohave and $2,130 at Maricopa community colleges.
The new rate at NPC will be $48 per credit hour for residents, and $80 per credit hour for non-residents. The “discount plateau” will continue to exist, and there will be no additional charge for between 3.5 and 7.5 credit hours, or beyond 15 credit hours. Previously there was no additional charge beyond 12 credit hours.
General fees will remain the same, with the exception of the fee for a General Education Diploma (GED), which will increase from $75 to $80.
According to documents prepared by college staff members, other community colleges around the state plan to raise their tuition rates an average of $4.40 per semester hour, which makes NPC’s increase in line with the rest of the state.
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