At a special meeting Monday, Flathead Valley Community College trustees approved an increase in tuition and fees for students.

Effective during the fall semester, tuition would go up by $2 per credit and fees by 60 cents per credit if the Board of Regents approves the increases.

That means an in-district (resident) student would pay $36.40 more per semester or $72.80 more per year.

For a full-time in-district student, the cost of a year’s tuition and fees would go from $3,584 to $3,656.80.

An out-of-district Montana student would pay $5,028.80 compared to $4,956 currently. Out-of-state students would pay $10,796 per year, up from $10,724 in the 2010-11 school year.

FVCC’s district covers Flathead and Lincoln counties.

College President Jane Karas said she accepted the recommendation made by the college’s budget committee made up of representatives of division chairmen, classified and professional employees, department heads and students. 

To arrive at a number, the budget committee meets over a number of months and looks at the institution’s needs in the next fiscal year.

“We also had a student forum and sent an email to all students who have an email listed,” Karas said.

She said most said they understood the need to keep up with inflation and college costs, although one student complained that students would pay a lot less in California.

Factors considered while deciding next year’s tuition and fees were a projected slight decrease in enrollment, meaning less tuition and state funding, as well as an expected weakening of the value of the property-tax mill bringing fewer local taxpayer dollars to the college.

According to Karas, the increase of 2.1 percent for tuition and 1.8 percent for fees for in-district students comes in below the rate of inflation of 3.2 percent.

The across-the-board $2 tuition and 60 cent fee increases for out-of-district and out-of-state students equates to much smaller percentage increases.

Karas said their tuition and fees were not increased by the same percentage as in-district students because those students already pay much higher tuition compared to other colleges.

Viewed from an economic perspective, Karas pointed out that an increase that is lower than inflation is, in effect, a reduction in tuition. However, even small out-of-pocket increases cause problems for some, she said.

“For some students, a $2 increase is a lot,” Karas said.

She said those students have a lot of options for financial aid at the college.

In response to trustee questions, Karas said this adjustment should bring in about $90,000 if enrollment stays the same.  She said it should leave the college in the same competitive position on tuition with other colleges in Montana.

She said does not yet know what all other colleges and universities have requested for tuition and fees for fiscal year 2012.

“I expect us to stay exactly where we are or drop down some in comparison to other colleges,” Karas said.

Trustees voted unanimously to accept the recommended changes. Tuition and fees were not acted upon in the April monthly meeting because legislative action — including the governor’s signature on the state budget bill setting education funding — was not completed until last week.

Also at Monday’s meeting, the trustees accepted the canvass of the recent trustee elections.

They voted separately on each of the three races, with the trustees who were elected abstaining from voting on accepting the canvass of their own positions even though legal counsel said they could vote.

Incumbents Robert Nystuen, Thomas Harding, Shannon Lund and John Phelps won seats in the May 3 election.

Reporter Candace Chase may be reached at 758-4436 or by e-mail at cchase@dailyinterlake.com .