NWACC more expensive than its peers

Students at NorthWest Arkansas Community College will dig a little deeper into their wallets when the school’s tuition and fee increase goes into effect July 1.

Local students already pay more to attend NorthWest Arkansas Community College than four other two-year institutions across the state.

Students like Kaity Smith of Bentonville, will dole out $75 more for annual tuition and $95 in additional fees when she returns to school in August. Her fall tuition and fees will cost about $1,459, up 6.2% from 2011 prices.

Students who don’t live inside the immediate district face higher costs. Some 51% of the Bentonville-based college’s 8,188 students live outside the immediate district. These tuition rates will jump 4.24% to $122.50 per credit hour in July.

Comparatively, North Arkansas Community College in Harrison and East Arkansas Community College in Forrest City set tuition rates at $90, which is a 36% student savings for the same 15 hours of credit per semester.

Out-of-district students at the University of Arkansas Community College in Morrilton see a 48% tuition savings when compared locally. The Morrilton college set tuition rates at $83 per semester hour.

South in Hope, students at the UA Community College there get a 91.4% tuition savings compared to NorthWest Arkansas Community College. Their out-of-district tuition rate is $64 per semester hour.

The local college's Board of Trustees voted unanimously Monday to raise tuition to cover the school's rising costs, said Wyley Elliott, vice president for public relations and development.

Local students like Smith said she doesn't understand why the tuition increase can’t wait until the economy improves.

"It's not really fair to people, especially with the way the economy is right now," Smith said.

Smith, a freshman majoring in music education, said she used most of her savings and is working 30 hours a week in addition to attending school full-time in order to pay for college.

The tuition increase "will make me work a lot harder for financial aid and will drain my reserves," she said.

A Feb. 20 memo from Marty Parsons, the college’s chief financial officer and senior vice president of administrative services to Board of Trustees, said the tuition increase was necessary to offset increased expenditures.

Those expenditures include rising personnel costs, staff benefits, technology infrastructure and utilities, according to Parsons' memo.

The tuition and fee increase is expected to boost the school’s revenue by an estimated $1.4 million next year.

Elliott said board members discussed and debated the need for a higher tuition for six months prior to Monday's decision.

Alex Vasquez, board chairman, said the increase will be a positive for the college.

"We know that we have to, at times, increase the cost, but hopefully that will translate into better student services, better student learning," Vasquez said.

Melissa Andrews of Bentonville is a freshman at NorthWest Arkansas Community College this year. She recently returned to school after being laid off and also questions the need for the tuition and fee hike.

"I lost my job and was on unemployment and decided I needed to do something different," Andrews said, noting an increase in tuition could make it more difficult for people to go back to school.

"I don't see a reason (for the tuition increase)," Andrews said.

Elliott said the college works to keep tuition increases, when necessary, as low as possible by containing costs.

The driving force behind the tuition increase is to ensure the college's quality of education, Elliott said.

Local students will also face higher fees across the board, for technology, learning support, infrastructure and facilities maintenance. A student enrolled in 15 credit hours will pay $333.55 per semester in fees, a 16.5% increase. For the full-year, added fees will cost a student roughly $95 more after July 1.

The school's largest fee increases will be for students enrolled in culinary and health professions courses. The culinary supply fee will double from $50 to $100 per class. Fees for health professions labs will jump from $35 to $60 per class.