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.
Yavapai College is offering a new 25% discount on credit classes to residents age 65+.
An applicant must meet all of the eligibility requirements below and register for ALL classes between August 12 to August 22.
To be eligible for a discounted tuition of 25% for credit class registration, all of the criteria must be met (*Some exclusions apply):
* 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.
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):
*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.
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.
Anyone familiar with how the College Governing Board has operated in the past can only scratch their head at how it so easily trashed student institutional scholarships in favor of a $103.5 million dollar ten-year plan to essentially rebuild the campus and centers on the west side of the County.
Recall that back in 2010-11 the College claimed it faced a financial crisis. It based the claim on a large reduction in state financial assistance. In response to the crisis, about $1 million dollars in student institutional scholarships were eliminated from the general fund. This meant that a very large number of deserving students no longer received scholarship aid; for many it probably meant no longer having access to post-secondary education.
Also recall that in December 2013 the College Administration created a $103.5 million dollar building plan, which the Governing Board approved in concept. This plan was essentially aimed at the campus and centers on the west side of the County. Astonishingly, without a whimper from the controlling West County voting bloc on the Board, the College moved ahead with the building plan financed from the general fund to pay for the construction. (Over repeated objection from east county former Board members Oliphant and Filardo and present Board member McCasland.)
Since December 2013 the College has plowed ahead with its building project (reducing it to about $65 million) without showing any real concern for its decision to eliminate the $1 million dollar in scholarships in 2010-11. (After almost a decade, the Board may finally replace about $100,00 of the $1 million at the February 2019 meeting.)
In a better world, the funds from the budget should have gone to student scholarships over the past decade rather than for capital construction.
The reason students were shafted is clear. The Governing Board feared sending the $103.5 development project to County voters and asking them to approve it via a General Obligation bond. They might have rejected it. If approved, it would have created a secondary tax but left the primary taxes in the general fund for student scholarships.
Because of fear of not getting their way on the huge building project, the previous Board and previous administration sacrificed student scholarships.
One hopes the new board and new administration will see students in a different light and give priority to scholarships over bricks and mortar. Replacing the $100,000 is a small step in the right direction.
Yavapai Community College annually places about $800,000 in a fund to support what are described as “institutional scholarships.” However, it appears there is not a fair opportunity for all students to apply and be selected for one of these scholarships.
When questioned during the January Governing Board meeting, the College Administration admitted that around $600,000 of those scholarships went mostly to athletes. (See Video). Moreover, most of the $600,000 went to the athletic program to provide scholarships for student athletes recruited outside Yavapai County.
In data obtained by the Blog via a public records request, the Community College reported that it spent $598,052 in scholarships for athletes recruited in 2017. This compares with a total award of tuition scholarships to athletes of $405,170 in 2010 (192,882 more than in 2017).
Isn’t it time for the Governing Board to seriously discuss whether the practice of setting aside 75% of all institutional scholarships for athletes is a fair use of student tuition? One hopes that this discussion will take place at the February governing board meeting.
Yavapai Community College has increased its base tuition in each of the last ten years in some form. The tuition increase has been at least twice the annual inflation rate each year.
For example, the inflation rate for 2019 is currently estimated at 2.3%, up a bit from 1.9% at the end of 2018. However, the college is recommending a 4.5% increase for 2019 – 20. Last year (2018), the college recommended and received a 5% tuition increase and a 4% tax rate increase.
With a reduced staff and a significant drop in the number of students taking accredited classes, what is the justification for the increase? Hopefully, we’ll get some answers at the February Governing Board meeting.
The result of these increases is, of course to saddle many community college students with increased debt.
Senate Bill 1217, sponsored by Cave Creek Republican Senator Heather Carter, would direct Yavapai Community College and other colleges in Arizona to create a new tuition rate for all students who graduate from Arizona high schools.
The Bill would allow young immigrants covered under the Federal Deferred Action for Childhood Arrivals program and students who are undocumented to pay a different price than the out-of-state tuition rates, which are about three to four times higher than in-state rates. If the bill passes, a DACA student who graduates from an Arizona high school would be eligible for the new tuition rate for the four years after they graduate from high school.
At Yavapai Community College, the standard per credit tuition rate for residents is $87. Out-of-state tuition for a nonresident taking more than seven credits is $366 per credit.
The bill follows a decision by the Arizona Supreme Court in April that ruled that Maricopa Community Colleges could not legally grant in-state tuition to DACA recipients.
As expected, a majority on the Yavapai Community College District Governing swiftly approved President Penelope Wills request for a 5% tuition increase in basic tuition. Only Second District Representative Deb McCasland said “no” to the five percent increase. She wanted substantial justification for the increase but didn’t receive it.
Increases were also made in Tier two tuition (up from $95 to $100 per credit hour) and tier three tuition (up from $105 to $110 per credit hour.). Some courses such as those in aviation were reduced by $25 an hour to $525 an hour.
During the discussion, Board member Ray Sigafoos cited socialism, Bernie Sanders, and Ross Parot as support for is view. He stated that Arizona’s Republican Attorney General, Mark Brnovich was a democrat. Sigafoos didn’t seem pleased that the AG was raising tuition questions and questioning the meaning found in Arizona’s Constitution that reads that instruction be furnished “as nearly free as possible.”
The following chart shows the increases approved in the various areas. (The estimated inflation rate was apparently not considered in setting fees.)
Commentary
Absent a dramatic change, the Yavapai Community College District Governing Board will decide the amount of student tuition increase, if any, at the February Board meeting. Over the past ten years, the Board has increased tuition in some form every year. There is no reason to believe that the Board, driven by the West-County Voting Bloc, will not increase tuition at the February meeting.
But does the Board’s obsession with annually increasing tuition comport with the intent of Arizona’s Constitution regarding the cost of instruction to students? The Blog believes the answer is clearly “no.” Here is why.
The Arizona Constitution states the following: “The university and all other state educational institutions shall be open to students of both sexes, and the instruction furnished shall be as nearly free as possible.” Below are listed some of the reasons that explain why this mandate has not been followed by the Governing Board (a majority vote only since 2013 ).
It seems pretty clear that in a variety of ways, the Governing Board violates Arizona’s Constitution. However, because the difference between four-year tuition at a state university and the Community College is so great, the gap covers up the fact that student instruction at the Community College is not being furnished as nearly free as possible.
Below is a chart showing how tuition was increased in 2017 by the Governing Board by a 4-1 vote (McCasland dissenting).
