Henry Ford Community College Trustees Approve Tuition Hike

Students at Henry Ford Community College will be paying slightly more for classes beginning in January.

The HFCC Board of Trustees voted 6-0 with Trustee Mary Lane absent to approve the increase at its meeting on Sept. 16. The change is expected to draw an additional $900,000 in revenue for the college.

Tuition will go up from $82 to $87 for residents. Non-residents will pay $149.25 per credit hour, and out-of-state and international students will pay $154.25 per credit hour.

Vice President John Satkowski characterized the tuition increase as "low," explaining that, though the college has had to raise tuition for the past three years, it still has some of the lowest rates among community colleges in Michigan.

The average in-district tuition for fiscal year 2012 for colleges of comparative size was roughly $85 per credit hour, and $140 for out of district students.

At a previous meeting, Trustee Mary Lane expressed frustration with the tuition increase, and said the college needs to focus on alternative funding opportunities and present concrete plans to the board outlining how it will curtail expenses in the future.

"I do not think it's right to continue to come back to the taxpayers and ask for more money when spending for higher education is the highest its been in a long time," Lane said.

Satkowski explained that while the college has attempted to keep costs down, state funding from Lansing also continues to decline. In fiscal year 2003, the college received $22.1 million in state aid. For 2013-2014, HFCC is predicting roughly $20.9 million. At the same time, property values have dropped, resulting in a revenue loss for the college.

In fiscal year 2008, HFCC received $1,508 in property tax revenue per full-time equivalent (FTE) student. In 2011, that number dropped to $907 per FTE student. Other area colleges received $3,015 per FTE in 2011, according to information provided by Satkowski.

HFCC President Stan Jensen previously announced that the college was able to close its $16 million deficit through a combination of layoffs, program cuts and contract negotiations, and is now in a better position to end the fiscal year in the black.

Part of the contract negotiations resulted in $29 million in savings over the next five years from reduced faculty costs, $9.5 million in savings from mid-level staff concessions and $1.6 million in savings from the executive office.

"We've addressed a number of issues to spend and invest our dollars more wisely," Jensen said.

The college also made changes to its registration guidelines to prevent students from receiving financial aid without enrolling and attending classes.

Enrollment dropped about 23 percent in the fall compared to last year, but revenues are only down 16 percent, Trustee James Schoolmaster told the Dearborn Press and Guide.