A tuition increase of $3 per credit hour starting in the Summer 2018 term was approved by the IVCC Board of Trustees at their meeting on Feb. 8.

This raises tuition to a total of $133 per hour which is still lower than the current community college state average of $140.88 per hour.

For a student enrolled in 12 credit hours, the increase adds up to $36.

“Even with the increase, we continue to be well below the state average for community colleges, less than half the cost of Northern Illinois University and approximately one-fourth the cost of Illinois State and the University of Illinois—even before you start adding in all fees,” Corcoran said in the February board report.

The Student Government Association supported the need for an increase as Student Trustee Matthew Pehoski explains.

“We have had to increase the tuition to continue to keep IVCC at a positive fiscal position for the next school year while paying for our rising costs for things such as faculty salaries and various other costs,” Pehoski said.

“As a student of IVCC, any increase in the money that I have to pay to attend is not my favorite thing, but I understand why it needs to be done,” Pehoski continued. “The tuition increase also lines up with the current rate of inflation for the next year.”

See more in Pehoski’s student trustee column this issue.

While acknowledging the budget considerations, IVCC student Kellsie Edgcomb is concerned about the continual increase in tuition costs.

“A college kid could use that $36 to help pay bills as opposed to putting more funds into education expenses,” Edgcomb said, “especially because college expenses are increasing exponentially for millennial students.”