Tuition Fees Established For Community College

Students who live in the Washtenaw Community College District will pay $100 per semester or $9 per credit hour to attend the new college when it opens next fall. Students from Michigan but not from this district will pay $200 per semester or $18 per credit hour, and students from outside the state will pay $300 or $27 per hour. These tuition fees were set for the first year's operations by a unanimous vote of the college trustees last night. The trustees specified that they apply only to the first year because experience may indícate that the actual cost will require higher or even lower fees. Special short courses will have a different fee scale, and this scale was left for further study by the college adminHration. College President David H. Ponitz said that the in-district luition was based on the understanding that tuition should cover about one-third of the total cost, with the local property tax and state aid paying the remaining two-thirds of the cost of educating a student. He compared the $100 per semester rate with the other colleges in the state. Twelve of the community colleges have the same or higher tuition, ranging from $200 per year to $278. Eight have lower tuition, ranging from $120 to $185.25 per year. Tuition at the University is $174 per trimester period for state residents and $550 for non! residents. A minimum fee of $25 is charged for reduced pro grams and the course charge is $15 per credit hour. p Eastern Michigan University colleges $150 per semester fi"S residents or $300 for non-residents. The minimum charge for one or two hours is $45. Cleary College, a private business school in Ypsilanti,B charges $170 per semester. Residence is not a factor because state aid and local property taxes are not involved. g The tuition rate for in - state K but out-of-district residents is designed to reflect in-district tuition costs plus costs paid for Kj the in-district student by the local property tax. Students from outside the state should pay the full cost of their education since the college will not receive state aid for these students and the local property tax should not support them, Ponitz said. More study is necessary to determine if it is appropriate to charge registration, activity, physical education and graduation fees, Ponitz said. Ponitz said it is important to get the information on student expenses to the area high counselors can advise students who are considering enrolling for the fall term. College Business Manager Lloyd Van Buskirk said that when the college reaches its expected 5,000 enrollment, $100 tuition per semester should; meet the cost to the college for educating each student. The per student cost will exceed the total revenue from state aid, local tax and tuition at first, but the college has to keep its tuition under that charged by the other schools in the area or "tlïe community college won't be the bargain it is supposed to be," he said. Trustee Ralph C. Wenrich, University professor of ( tiona1 education, questioned whether the college should start out on a trimester plan c rather than the two-semester and summer school plan. Starting out this way would avoid the problems the University countered in changing over and would guarantee 12 months use ( of facilities, he said. Ponitz pointed out that the college expects to have short t term programs starting throughout the year and anticipates a full summer program. He was directed by Board Chairman Samuel T. Harmon to bring back information supporting both systerns for further determination by the board. Fees are on a semester basis. The vote on setting tuition was unanimous with Harmon, Edward Adams Jr., Evart W. Ardis, Wenrich and Richard C. Creal voting. Trustees Kenneth L. Yourd was absent. Eight persons in addition to the press attended the two-hour session.