The Flathead Valley Community College Board of Trustees voted Monday to increase tuition and fees by almost 2 percent.

Tuition will increase $1.60 per credit and fees by $1 per credit for an impact of $36.40 per semester for a full-time (14 credits) in-district student per semester.

The increases take effect this fall.

The increases recommended by college President Jane Karas were lower than those suggested by the college budget committee, which would have added $50.40 to the tuition and fee cost each semester.

 “That keeps our increase in tuition and fees at 1.99 percent which is far below the rate of inflation,” Karas said.

She said the college has managed its finances in a fiscally conservative manner, allowing trustees to keep tuition increases below the rate of inflation for several years. The board increased tuition by $2 per credit last year and $2 per credit the year before.

After reviewing the college’s budget and the tuition and fee schedule, Karas said she decided that the college could maintain the foundation for quality education with a smaller increase.

Answering a question posed by trustee Mark Holston, Karas said the tuition increase would raise $85,000. Noting the small impact on the budget, Holston asked if the executive staff could “sharpen their pencils” so the college could go through a year without a tuition increase as a symbolic move to keep education accessible.

Karas pointed out that other schools in Montana previously made two-year increases. She said the FVCC board chose to make annual reviews and smaller adjustments.

“That helps us address the costs that we see are increasing due to inflation,” she said. “It also helps students plan for education so they don’t have a large spike of a 5 or 10 or 15 percent increase in tuition.”

Trustee Tom McElwain said he recently saw a study that reported a 28 percent decline in the value of homes in the valley, which could lead to a decrease in tax revenue to support the college in the near future. He said this increase would help buffer that impact.

Holston said recent discussions by board candidates have noted the importance of the board speaking with one voice and finding consensus.

“This is an example of where I’ll vote for this but with some reservations because I think it would be great if we could go through one year without having an increase,” he said. “But I do understand the logic behind it.”

With Tom Harding absent, the board voted unanimously to approve the increase of $1.60 in tuition and $1 increase in fees for all categories of students. If approved by the Board of Regents, the cost per credit for tuition becomes $98.60 in-district, $147.60 out-of-district and $353.60 out-of-state.

In other action, trustees passed the first reading of a policy change that pushes the age from 62 to 65 to qualify for tuition-free enrollment in credit courses. This change brings the college into alignment with the Board of Regents definition of senior citizens.

“We are asking to update our policy so that it is more current and better addresses the senior citizens we serve for credit programs,” Karas said. “The majority of our [senior] students are 65 or older.”

The change doesn’t impose tuition on people 62 and older who now are enrolled in credit courses  as long as they remain continuously enrolled. It also does not affect the cost of the popular Senior Institute offering a slate of Friday classes to older adults each spring.

Also at the regular April board meeting:

n Trustees voted to terminate the administrative assistant certificate program due to low enrollment.

n Trustees approved borrowing $2.4 million as “bridge financing” for the construction of the Rebecca Chaney Broussard Center for Nursing and Allied Health Center. The college has received just a portion of the Broussard family’s donation of $4 million for the project with the rest scheduled to come over the next four years. The public campaign to raise $1 million has reached $875,000.

n Trustees heard statements from candidates Michael Hebert, Jerry Elwood and Raylene Sliter for the board of trustee position representing the Flathead/Glacier high school district. The election takes place Tuesday, May 8.

n Tom McElwain of Columbia Falls was sworn in for a third three-year term representing the Whitefish, Columbia Falls and Bigfork high school districts. Since he was unopposed, the board of trustees elected  him by acclamation at a special meeting.

n Karas announced that she has been elected to become chairwoman of the American Association of Community Colleges. She serves as chairwoman-elect from this July to June 2013 then chairwoman from July 2013 to June 2014.

As a future leader of the organization, Karas was invited to go to China this week as part of a delegation of the U.S. Secretary of State ‘s office to sign an agreement between the association, the secretary of state’s office and the Chinese.

She said the association was paying for her trip. Karas described others on the delegation like the Ford and other foundations as excellent potential partners for the college.

“It’s an exciting opportunity and interesting trip,” she said. “There’s a lot happening — wonderful things for the college.”

 Karas left Tuesday and returns Sunday.

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