RIVERTON — How much does it cost to go to Central Wyoming College? Starting next year, a little bit more.
The CWC Board of Trustees recently voted to increase student tuition in an effort to make up some of the expected shortfall in its budget following decreased property tax revenue.
“The impact of cutting property taxes on someone who relies on property taxes is not good,” noted CWC President Brad Tyndall.
With less revenue coming in via taxes, the college has decided to increase its fees and will be suggesting that the Wyoming Community College Commission raise tuition for community colleges statewide at its meeting next week.
Tyndall expects a difference of $800,000 to $1 million based on property tax changes being implemented.
An increase of $1 to tuition typically results in about a $25,000 increase to college revenue, he said, so the college is looking to increase two of its fees by $4 each and institute a new $4 fee. Tyndall and Vice President for Administrative Services Willie Noseep anticipate the increase will generate about $100,000 in revenue.
Tyndall recommended — and the board unanimously voted in favor of — increasing the college’s general fee by $4 to $28 per credit and its out-of-district site fee by $4 to $12 per credit; the board also approved implementing a new $4 fee per credit hour fee for online-only courses.
That means that students can expect to pay anywhere from an additional $4 per credit hour to an additional $12 per credit hour, depending on where they are located and how they attend classes.
For full-time students taking a minimum of 12 credits per semester, that’s at least an additional $48 per semester — and likely even more, as many full-time CWC students take more than 12 credits a semester.
Board member Shana Tarter wondered if this increase is in line with prior increases; yes and no, Tyndall and Noseep answered.
In the past, it’s been uncommon to increase items individually; instead the raise has been in the total fees paid, and how that applies to each of the different fees students owe has been worked out. But this increase’s overall impact is on par with how fees have gone up in the past.
“I feel like it’s unfortunate that we have to raise fees, but at the same time I understand why. It’s all about balance, I guess,” commented trustee Carlton Underwood.
These increases may seem relatively minor — and the board and CWC staff emphasized that they want to keep any increases reasonable — but many CWC students rely on scholarship funds already. One of the school’s draws is that it is an affordable option, which also helps its standing in college rankings, as worth per dollar paid is one of the factors taken into account.
Those are factors the college had to weigh against its revenue shortfall.
As a community college, CWC can’t raise its tuition on its own. The state commission sets tuition for all community colleges in Wyoming.
At its meeting on April 16 and 17, representatives from CWC planned to recommend a $4 tuition increase to the Wyoming Community College Commission.
