$3 per-credit-hour increase to supplement budget shortfall
On Tuesday (May 17) the College of Western Idaho (CWI) Board of Trustees unanimously approved a $3 per-credit-hour tuition and fees rate increase for credit seeking students in its service district. Beginning this fall semester students will pay $139 per credit hour, up from $136. It is the first tuition and fees rate increase at CWI since 2011. The increase will support the College’s operating budget for the coming year.
CWI has three primary sources of revenue: tuition and fees, property taxes, and state appropriations. Currently, the College’s tuition and fees are nearly half the cost of Idaho’s public universities, the property tax levy rate is $16.63 compared to Idaho’s other community colleges with levy’s ranging from $95-$112 per $100,000, and state funding for CWI is 61 percent of the average of Idaho’s other community colleges based on full-time equivalent student enrollment.
CWI’s modest increase of 2.2 percent is aligned with the State Board of Education’s 2 to 3 percent approved tuition and fees increase for Idaho’s public four-year higher education institutions.
“The decision did not come easy for the Board,” said Mary Niland, Chair of the Board of Trustees. “We have held our tuition for the last four years, but with increasing costs to operations the College has limited funding options to support superior quality of instruction. We must maintain the quality of our programs to properly prepare students for the careers of the 21st century. The Board’s decision on tuition and fees rate increase is based projections in property tax revenues and state appropriations, anticipated enrollment for the coming year, and most significantly the requirements of support services to maintain high quality education for our students. CWI will continue to operate as lean as possible to continue providing affordable, quality teaching and learning opportunities.”
CONTACT:
Jennifer Couch
(208) 562-3508 (office)
jennifercouch@cwi.edu
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About the College of Western Idaho:
The College of Western Idaho is a public, open-access, and comprehensive community college committed to providing affordable access to quality teaching and learning opportunities to the residents of its service area in western Idaho. CWI has seven campus locations throughout Southwest Idaho providing higher education and 21st Century technical skills acquisition. The college is dedicated to improving the community’s economic well-being by responding with highly-educated and productive graduates. The foundation for the area’s only community college was created by a supermajority of voters in Ada and Canyon counties on May 22, 2007. For more information about the college, visit cwi.edu or call (208) 562-3000.
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