Any costs incurred by the Community College for the new program will be paid for by the City, businesses and education community; Yavapai launched its tuition-free program in fall 2019

Mesa Mayor John Giles announced Tuesday, February 4, the decision to provide free tuition for eligible Mesa Community College students beginning fall 2020. According to Giles, the city of Mesa has been studying the issue for the past year and received recommendations the end of January for starting the Mesa College Promise campaign.

“The Mesa College Promise means free tuition at community college for eligible students graduating from local high schools,” Giles said during his State of the City address.

Under the direction of Dr. Lisa Rhine, Yavapai Community College has already launched an experimental program somewhat similar to the Mesa effort. In the fall 2019 more than 300 new students enrolled in the program at Yavapai.

It does not apply to students seeking certificates. And there are specific requirements. For example, the Yavapai program is restricted to County residents and they must complete their degree within seven semesters after graduation from high school.

The program provides eligible students a last dollar scholarship, meaning it will cover tuition not otherwise covered by Federal, State, Yavapai College, or other 3rd party (for example, high school, Yavapai College Foundation, Tribe, employer) grants, discounts, or scholarships. However, the program will reimburse no more than 61 credits of the tuition paid by a student.

When an eligible student completes his or her coursework after seven semesters of high school or GED graduation, any tuition that was paid out-of-pocket for tuition will be reimbursed. The program is strictly limited to tuition. It does not reimburse other related expenses including, but not limited to, books, course and program fees, or other cost of living expenses such as transportation, food, and housing.

Faculty begin training in use of Open Educational Resources in February; anticipates some classes in fall 2020 using materials

Dr. Diane Ryan, Vice President of Strategic Initiatives,  explained to the Governing Board how she is developing the free textbook program at Yavapai Community College during the Board’s January retreat.  Faculty at the Community College will begin training on how to use Open Educational Resources (OER) material in February.  She told the Board that she anticipates that there will be some classes operating with free textbooks by the fall 2020.

The Open Educational Resources project is a part of President Dr. Lisa Rhine’s effort to make post-secondary education available to everyone in the County at the lowest possible cost. It is estimated the OER program will take three or four years to fully implement at Yavapai Community College.

You may view a portion of Dr. Ryan’s presentation to the Governing Board at the retreat below.

Must be citizen, County resident, and over 65 

Yavapai Community College is offering a 25% discount on credit classes to residents age 65+. An applicant must meet all of the eligibility requirements and register for ALL classes between January 6-17, 2020.

The Community College says that “to be guaranteed a spot in the class you want, register early. If you want to take advantage of the 25% discount, register the week before classes as space allows.”

For more information and to learn about additional restrictions,  please go to the Community College web site by clicking here.

Starts next fall; Yavapai Community College experimenting with somewhat similar program

It was announced December 20, 2019 that incoming students will pay no tuition or fees at Connecticut community colleges starting next fall under a plan approved by the Connecticut State Colleges and Universities Board of Regents.  The Pledge to Advance Connecticut (PACT), is in response to legislation passed last spring. It  guarantees that eligible in-state, full-time, first-time students at the 12 campuses will not pay out-of-pocket for tuition or mandatory fees.

PACT has  four goals: (1) Mitigate excess debt for students and families, d(2) Iincrease student enrollment within the community college sector, (3) Support student retention efforts,  and (4) support on-time credential completion.

Although neither as broad nor supported by Arizona legislation funding the effort, Yavapai Community College,  under the direction of Dr. Lisa Rhine,  has launched an experimental program somewhat similar to the Connecticut effort. Click here for details. https://www.yc.edu/v6/promise/about.html

In the fall 2019  more than  300 new students enrolled in  the program. It does not apply to students seeking certificates.  And there are specific requirements.  For example, the Yavapai  program is restricted to County residents and they must complete their degree within seven semesters after graduation from high school. 

The program provides eligible students a last dollar scholarship, meaning it will cover tuition not otherwise covered by Federal, State, Yavapai College, or other 3rd party (for example,  high school, Yavapai College Foundation, Tribe, employer) grants, discounts, or scholarships. However, the program will reimburse no more than 61 credits of the tuition paid by a student.

When an eligible student completes his or her coursework after seven semesters of high school or GED graduation, any tuition that was paid out-of-pocket for tuition will be reimbursed. The program is strictly limited to tuition. It does not reimburse other related expenses including, but not limited to, books, course and program fees, or other cost of living expenses such as transportation, food, and housing.

The courses taken by the student must have been paid for by the student or the student’s family, not any other source. Courses must have been taken from Yavapai College (reimbursement does not apply for transfer credits) after high school graduation or GED completion.  There is no reimbursements for repeated courses or for Developmental Education credits. Aerospace Science majors and courses are not eligible (including Fixed Wing, Rotor, Unmanned, and Air Traffic).

Students are responsible to pay all their expenses up front (tuition and fees, books, cost of living). As already noted, it does not apply to certificate seeking students.

It is not clear what the final cost to the Community College will be for this program. It may be minimal because most students are eligible for Pell grants, which already pay for tuition.  However, the College won’t know the full impact on  its budget until two years from now when the first crop of “Promise” students graduate.

Yavapai Community College has begun developing similar program

It was reported December  23 that a free textbook program at the University of Hawaii’s community colleges has saved students more than $3.4 million since it began in 2015.  To do this, the Hawaii Community Colleges are using what is called “Open Educational Resources”  materials.  Up to 40% of classes at on some Hawaii Community Colleges use these resources.

Dr. Diane Ryan, Yavapai  Community College’s new Vice President of Strategic Initiatives, is heading up a similar  program that will lead to many faculty using open educational resources (OER) course materials. The initiative is a part of President Dr. Lisa Rhine’s effort to make post-secondary education available to everyone in the County at the lowest possible cost. It is estimated the OER program will take three or four years to fully implement at Yavapai Community College.

Before coming to Yavapai in September of 2019, Dr. Ryan was at Tidewater Community College in Virginia. There,  as an academic dean, she advocated for the use of open educational resources.  She recruited 38 faculty members at Tidewater to teach with OER course materials. As a consequence,  students at Tidewater have saved hundreds of thousands of dollars in book purchases since 2014 when the program began.

Source:  https://www.hawaiipublicradio.org/post/free-textbook-program-saves-hawaii-community-college-students-millions#stream/0

Lead by Dr. Diane Ryan, College hopes to reduce the cost of textbooks by  $2,000 or more per student by developing and using OER course materials

Dr. Diane Ryan

Dr. Diane Ryan, the Community College’s new Vice President of Strategic Initiatives, announced at the Osher Brown Bag Buzz program held Thursday, November 7 on the Verde Campus that she it heading up a new program that will lead to faculty using open educational resources (OER) course materials. The project will save students thousands of dollars in textbook costs.

The initiative is a part of President Dr. Lisa Rhine’s effort to make post-secondary education available to everyone in the County at the lowest possible cost. It is estimated the OER program will take three or four years to fully implement.

Before coming to Yavapai in September of this year, Dr. Ryan was at Tidewater Community College in Virginia. There,  as an academic dean, she advocated for the use of open educational resources.  She recruited 38 faculty members at Tidewater to teach with OER course materials. As a consequence,  students at Tidewater have saved hundreds of thousands of dollars in book purchases since 2014 when the program was begun.

Dr. Ryan is now turning her experience with OER at Tidewater to developing a similar program at Yavapai.

Says that reducing tuition emulates typical business approach when there is a supply over demand problem and may help generate larger enrollment in a tough market

East Valley education advocate Ruth Wicks suggested to the Community College Governing Board at its October 8 meeting that it consider reducing the cost of tuition.  Wicks’ noted that during the last few years the College had seen a “dramatic drop in enrollment.”  Enrollment has dropped despite increased population growth in Yavapai County and “sister institutions have flourished,” she said.

Wicks argued that dropping tuition to attract students would be a “daring” step by the College.  She also argued that if you have an excess supply of a product in business because of few buyers, you commonly drop the price to gain buyers. The College should emulate this model, she said.

She also said that there is concern that students who are not eligible for government assistance because of their assets, might still be unable to afford college. By reducing tuition, those students might be attracted to enroll and improve their marketable skills.

Wicks noted that there may be excess funds in the Community College budget that could be used to make up for the loss of revenue.

You my view all of her interesting argument in the video below.

U.S. Department of Education says national student federal loan default rate in 2016 decreased to 10.1% (9.6% for public institutions); Yavapai at 22.4%

The U.S. Department of Education reported in late September 2019 that the federal student loan default rate had dropped to 10.1% nationally.  (See Government press release by clicking here.) For public institutions, the rate fell from 10.3% in FY 2015 to 9.6% in FY 2016.

According to the Department of Education National Center for Education Statistics, Yavapai Community College reported a default loan rate of 22.4% in 2016. (Please click here to see cohort report.)  The default rate at Yavapai appears about double the national rate.

Following below is the official report on Yavapai Community College from the USDE Center for Education Statics.

Students successfully completing “Promise” program pay no tuition; makes Yavapai Community College the most affordable Community College in Arizona

Yavapai Community College is moving ahead with its program that will provide degree seeking students an opportunity to attend tuition-free. The program is restricted to County residents. This fall, according to Vice President Clint Ewell, more than 300 new students are in the program. It does not apply to students seeking certificates.

In addition to County residency, students must meet certain other requirements if they are to participate in the program. For example, they must complete their degree within seven semesters after graduation from high school. 

The program provides eligible students a last dollar scholarship, meaning it will cover tuition not otherwise covered by Federal, State, Yavapai College, or other 3rd party (for example,  high school, Yavapai College Foundation, Tribe, employer) grants, discounts, or scholarships. However, the program will reimburse no more than 61 credits of the tuition paid by a student.

When an eligible student completes his or her coursework after seven semesters of high school or GED graduation, any tuition that was paid out-of-pocket for tuition will be reimbursed. The program is strictly limited to tuition. It does not reimburse other related expenses including, but not limited to, books, course and program fees, or other cost of living expenses such as transportation, food, and housing.

The courses taken by the student must have been paid for by the student or the student’s family, not any other source.

Courses must have been taken from Yavapai College (reimbursement does not apply for transfer credits) after high school graduation or GED completion.

There is no reimbursements for repeated courses or for Developmental Education credits.

Aerospace Science majors and courses are not eligible (including Fixed Wing, Rotor, Unmanned, and Air Traffic).

Students are responsible to pay all their expenses up front (tuition and fees, books, cost of living). As already noted, it does not apply to certificate seeking students.

It is not clear what the final cost to the Community College will be for this program. It may be minimal because most students are eligible for Pell grants, which already pay for tuition.  However, the College won’t know the full impact on on its budget until two years from now when the first crop of “Promise” students graduate.

Sources: Yavapai Community College “What is the YC Promise?” Click here to go to that web page. Yavapai Community College October 8, 2019 District Governing Board meeting.

Continues decade-long annual increase of tuition at Yavapai Community College

The Yavapai Community College District Governing Board unanimously approved a request from the College Administration to increase student tuition by almost 5% at its October 8, 2019 meeting.  The increase will generate around $500,000 in additional revenue over the academic year 2020-2021.  The Governing Board has increased tuition in some form at the Community College every year for more than a decade.

According to Vice President of Finance & Administrative Services, Dr. Clint Ewell, the increase was needed  because of a decline in summer enrollment, a loss of a small amount of state aid, and an increase in employee benefits.

You may view an edited video (about 8 minutes) of Dr. Ewell’s presentation below or you may view his entire presentation when it is posted on the College web site by clicking here.