The executive director of the Iowa Association of Community College Trustees says Iowa’s 15 area community colleges are raising tuition for the coming academic year somewhere between five and 10 percent. Gene Gardner says tuition and fees at Iowa community colleges rank in the top third among the nation’s junior colleges. Gardner says Iowa’s community college leaders are sensitive to tuition rate increases.Gardner says presidents and boards are very concerned that the cost of tuition doesn’t keep students from attending. But at the same time, Gardner says colleges are strapped to pay utility bills and professors’ salaries. The average per-credit-hour tuition fee for the current year is 97 dollars. Gardner says tuition is an important factor in enrollment. Student numbers at the state’s community colleges have grown dramatically over the past few years. There are presently 78-thousand students enrolled at the 15 institutions.Gardner says in the past five years, enrollment’s gone up by about 14-thousand students.Gardner says those enrollment increases have occurred while state aid has been on the decline. The state commitment to community colleges for the 2004 budgeting year is less than 2001 levels.
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