The Board of Trustees at Owens Community College will be considering a tuition increase when it meets
Sept. 8.
Also on the board’s agenda will be a resolution to charge tuition for the 13th and 14th credit hours
taken by students — credit hours that, until now, have been free.
The members of the board’s finance committee voted Tuesday to recommend a 3.5-percent increase in
tuition, and the charge for the additional credit hours, both effective spring semester 2010.
According to John Satkowski, vice president of Business Affairs, the increases are necessary to offset
declines in state financial support.
If approved, tuition and fees for spring semester, which starts in January, will be $127.30 per credit,
up from the $123 currently charged.
The college hasn’t increased tuition since fall semester 2006.
The tuition increase needs only the board’s approval.
The intent to charge for additional credit hours needs the approval of the Ohio Board of Regents.
Satkowski said he expected Chancellor Eric Fingerhut to support the charge, as only 18 percent of
students on the Owens campus would be affected by the increase.
With the increases, full-time students taking 24 credit hours would pay $3,076 in tuition and fees for
the year, then an additional $127.30 per semester credit hour taken up to 14 credit hours. The college
will continue to not charge the per-credit-hour rate for students enrolled in excess of 14 hours.
The college expects to receive $43.4 million in state share of instruction for the 2009-10 academic year,
a decrease of $1.9 million from what was projected in the state’s biennium budget. The increase in
tuition charges is anticipated to bring in an additional $1.2 million for this fiscal year.