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. 

Tuition fees may be increased 4% to 5%; continues decade-long annual decision to raise tuition

The Yavapai Community College Board will seek a tuition increase at the Tuesday, October 8 Governing Board meeting of from four to five percent.  The Governing Board has approved a fee increase in some form every year over the past decade.

It is anticipated that the Board will approve the increase being asked this year.

Discount only applies when registering one week before the start of classes or the week that classes begin; credit classes only

Yavapai College is offering  a discount of 25% on tuition for seniors 65 years and older who wish to enroll in academic courses at any of its campuses.  The discount only applies when registering one week before the start of classes or the week that classes begin.

If one who is 65 or older signs up prior to this specially discounted time, you may do so at regular tuition costs. To be eligible for a discounted tuition of 25% for credit class registration, all of the criteria must be met(*Some exclusions apply):

1. Student must be a US citizen.
2. Student must be eligible for in-state residency for tuition purposes.
3. Student must be age 65 or older by the 7th day of the fall semester.
4. **Student must register for all classes between August 12 to August 22 (according to current JUNE 2019 College website).

*Students enrolled in the Aviation Program are not eligible for the discounted tuition for any classes. Students enrolled in any Aviation or Unmanned Aircraft classes who are not in an aviation program are not eligible for the discounted tuition on those specific classes.

** Registration for ANY class prior to the week before or during the first week of classes (even if student drops class and re-registers) will negate any senior discount for any class in that semester.

*** The 25% discount only applies to for-credit classes.

For more information, click here.

Increase is a little over 4%; East County representatives say there is no need for increase given the surplus of funds in budget; declining market share

The Yavapai Community College Governing Board voted 3-2 to increase tuition a little over 4% at its meeting last Tuesday.  This follows a pattern followed by a majority on the Board where over the past decade tuition has been increased in some form every year and at a rate at least double that of  inflation.  The increase was opposed by the two members on the Board who represent the east side of Yavapai County.

The East-County representatives said that it was unnecessary to impose the increase on County residents this year because the College had failed to show there was an immediate need for funding.  They reminded the College that annually over the past several years it had reported a budgetary surplus in excess of $1 million dollars.  The College admitted that it anticipated a similar surplus this coming year. They concluded that given the annual surplus of funds anticipated in the coming budget,  there were more than sufficient funds to cover any cost increases incurred by the College for the next budgetary period.

They also argued that the College may be pricing itself out of the market despite what on the surface appears to be very reasonable tuition.  Paul Chevalier observed that in business when your product is not selling well, the last thing you do is increase the price.  He reminded the Board that over the past decade, the College has seen a steady decline in students seeking to take accredited courses.

Deb McCasland pointed out that the cost of attending college entails much more than tuition and that lower tuition meant more money for related living expenses.  The College generally agreed with Dr. Clint Ewell saying it costs a Yavapai Community College student at least $14,000 a year to attend if you include books, transportation and living expenses.  

You may view the arguments made by East-County representatives on the edited video clip below. You may view the entire Governing Board video and all the discussion by clicking here.