Pima College board set to vote on $90 tuition increase

The cost of an education is set to rise again at Pima Community College.

With enrollment still falling and no state funding in sight, the college is proposing to increase in-state tuition by $3 per credit — or 3.8 percent — next school year.

The $3 increase is 50 percent higher than the projected $2 average increase among nine other community colleges in the state, according to a PCC administrative report.

PCC’s Governing Board is set to vote Wednesday, April 12, on the recommendation, which would increase basic tuition by $90 a year — from $2,355 to $2,445 — for full-time students taking 30 credits a year.

If approved, the increase would make PCC the third-most-costly in the state once student fees are factored in. The Tucson school now is the fifth-most-costly community college.

The college faces higher costs this year for utilities and benefits, and possibly for raises for PCC employees, who have not had a pay increase since 2015, the report said. The tuition increase would add about $1.3 million to the college’s coffers.

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It could have been worse: PCC administration considered, but did not recommend, a $7 per-credit increase for in-state students, which would have been the highest tuition hike in college history.

“The college has made a concerted effort to keep tuition increases as low as possible” after years of state funding cuts, a report from college finance boss David Bea said.

PCC students who met with the administration in February to discuss tuition were not opposed to the $3 increase, the report said. They understood the need for it and supported spending on high-quality student services, the report said.

International students and U.S. students from outside Arizona would see their tuition rates rise by 1 percent if they study on campus and by 5.9 percent for online classes.

But those students will still pay far less than they used to because PCC cut their tuition rates by 14.7 percent last year.

Foreign students would also pay a new $75 “international fee” each semester, but would no longer have to pay a $65 fee to apply to the college. The international fee would pay for things like case management and workshops to help students integrate.