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Maine community colleges will be 2.5 percent more expensive this fall if trustees approve the move on Wednesday.

By JOEL ELLIOTT, Blethen Maine News Service June 26, 2007

Students in the Maine Community College System will face a tuition increase of about 2.5 percent next year if a proposal from the system's president is approved.

John Fitzsimmons, president of the Maine Community College System, will urge trustees to accept the proposal at their next meeting, starting at 11:15 a.m. Wednesday at Kennebec Valley Community College in Fairfield.

The tuition increase would take effect in the fall.

The additional revenue would be used to support students and faculty staffing, according to the system's public affairs officer, Helen Pelletier.

"Community colleges have grown 47 percent (in enrollment) in the last four years, and state support has increased 10 percent," she said, "and so colleges have really been stretched thin."

Pelletier said the tuition increase would raise the cost per credit hour to $80 from $78, boosting the annual tuition for a full 30- hour course load to $2,400 from $2,340.

By comparison, University of Maine students will pay an estimated $218 per credit hour, $6,540 per year for a full course load, according to Joe Carr, director of university relations.

The Maine Community College System is composed of York County Community College in Wells, Washington County Community College in Calais, Southern Maine Community College in South Portland, Northern Maine Community College in Presque Isle, Kennebec Valley Community College in Fairfield, Eastern Maine Community College in Bangor and Central Maine Community College in Auburn.

The seven-college system operates with a $114 million annual budget, Pelletier said. Roughly 45 percent of its funding comes from the state, 25 percent comes from tuition and 20 percent comes from federal grants.

The budget jumped 6 percent this year and will probably jump another 6 percent next year, Pelletier said.

The proposal for a 2.5 percent increase comes a year after tuition went up 5.4 percent, Pelletier said.

"I think we're always very sensitive to the cost of community colleges," she said. "They are the most affordable option for students in this state, so we try very hard to contain the costs for students."