For the first time since 2006, students at Owens Community College may be facing an increase in their
tuition.
The Board of Trustees’ Finance Committee voted Tuesday to recommend a 3.5-percent increase in tuition,
effective spring semester.
The board, when it meets next Tuesday, will discuss the tuition increase as well as a resolution to
charge tuition for the 13th and 14th credit hours taken by students – credit hours that, until now, have
been free.
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 last time Owens increased tuition was fall semester 2006.
The tuition increase needs only the board’s approval. However, 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. Alternately, the issue could go before the Regents’ Controlling Board when it meets later
this month.
Owens is one of only three community college that do not charge students for every credit hour taken, and
it is the only public institution in Ohio with an "open" tuition window for students enrolled
between 12 and 18 credit hours. Under the current plan, a student enrolled for 13 to 18 credit hours is
only paying for 12 hours.
By not charging for the 13th and 14th credit hours, Owens is losing $1.6 million in revenue each year,
according to figures supplied to committee members.
If the board approves the recommendations, full-time students taking 24 credit hours would pay $3,076 in
tuition and fees for the year, then $127.30 for each additional credit hour up to 15. The college will
continue to not charge the per-credit-hour rate for students enrolled in 15 to 18 credit hours.
The extra 30 cents tacked on to tuition is not an computation error.
According to Satkowski, those couple extra dimes are expected to bring in an additional $130,000 in the
first year of the tuition increase, and more than $300,000 in 2010-11.
"Those pennies add up," he told the committee.
While the college expects to receive $43.4 million in state share of instruction for the 2009-10 academic
year, that is a decrease of $1.9 million from what was projected in the state’s biennium budget and
$758,790 less than what was received last year.
"We don’t believe we are probably going to get the numbers that are out there as promised,"
college President Christa Adams said about state funding estimates.
Satkowski pointed out that with the decrease in state aid, the amount of state support provided for each
student drops from $3,947 for the 2008-09 school year, to an expected $2,885 for the 2010-11 academic
year, once estimated enrollment increases are figured in.
"We’re almost a thousand dollars less by the time we’re in the 2011 budget," he stated.
The finance committee justified the increase in charges by pointing to the cuts in state support,
combined with three years of tuition freezes and increasing expenditures for operations. The college
continues to look for ways to save money. Most recently, administrators have negotiated a new energy
rate expected to save $400,000 over last year, and a health care package that should save nearly $1.4
million over five years. Also, the college operated a four-day work week over the summer to reduce
operational costs.
"We’ve been lean and mean for many, many years," said committee Chairman Rich Rowe, of Findlay.

The increase in tuition and per-credit charges is anticipated to bring in an additional $1.2 million for
this fiscal year. For the three semesters in 2010-11, the increases are expected to generate $2.9
million.
Owens currently ranks sixth among Ohio’s community college in what it charges in full-time undergraduate
fees (all five less-expensive colleges are supported by tax levies). Owens would maintain that standing
even after charging for 13 credit hours.
Owens is "still lowest of any of the non-levy community college in the state," said Satkowski.

By adding a fee for the 14th credit hour, Owens would slip to eighth place on the list of 23 two-year
colleges.
Satkowski said administrators have not ruled out another tuition increase for summer 2010.