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Tuition, fee hike OK’d

PARKERSBURG – West Virginia University at Parkersburg is planning on a tuition and fee increase for students, if it can get approval from the state board that has the final decision on these matters.

The WVU-P Board of Governors Wednesday approved a request by Alice Harris, vice president of finance & administration, to submit a proposed tuition and fee increase for the college to the Community and Technical College System of West Virginia for approval at its April meeting.

Harris is proposing an increase of $12 a credit hour for residents in the Certificate and Associate programs as well as an increase of $16.15 a credit hour for residents in the Baccalaureate degree programs.

”Our tuition rates are 14 percent below the average of all the other community and technical colleges in West Virginia,” she said.

Harris said this was one of the few programs in this area where students can come and receive an education that encompasses the career ladder, starting with a certificate to an Associate Degree and into a Bachelor’s program.

”We get no additional funding for those Baccalaureate programs from the state,” Harris said.

Over the last few years, the college’s appropriation has decreased by $1.2 million, she said. Decreases in enrollment have resulted in a decrease of $1.1 million in revenue.

If enrollment remains level for the next fiscal year and these increases were implemented, it would result in additional revenue of over $695,000.

However, Harris points out that won’t be enough to cover the projected deficit the school believes will happen.

”It is going to be shared by the college where we will have to have some budget cuts in order to make the budget balance,” Harris said.

Officials said that because the tuition is so low, students cannot fully take advantage of certain scholarships that are available due to financial requirements.

Harris is also proposing an increase of online programs from $25 to $75. Other fees are proposed to have increases, but many affect a minimum number of students, officials said.

Officials said additional increases in the future will be possible to bring the school more in line with other schools in the state. However, they said those increases would be done in increments over the next few years.

WVU-P President Fletcher Lamkin said when it is all done, the school will still be a few percentage points lower in tuition compared to other comparable schools in the state.

If the increases are approved by the Community and Technical College System of West Virginia, they will go into the process of formulating a budget for the college, Harris said.

”We then will determine what level of cuts we will need to make,” she said. ”I will do everything I can to help this institution operate as effectively as I can, but there is a minimum amount of money to operate these programs even as efficiently as you possibly can.”

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