For first time in 13 years, Daytona State College is looking at a fee increase. How much?
Daytona State College trustees are scheduled to consider a fee hike − albeit a small one − for the first time in 13 years.
The school issued a news release announcing that tuition is expected to remain at the same level it has been at since 2011, but that increased costs are driving the need to raise fees.
DSC has not raised tuition or fees since an 8% hike in 2011, which followed 8% increases in the prior two years. In 2012, trustees rejected a proposed 5% tuition increase for students pursuing associate's degrees and certificates. Then it became a custom.
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The college's trustees even voted in 2015 for a 2% cut of tuition for two-year degree programs, to $79.22 per credit hour in-state, the level at which it remains today. For two 12-credit semesters, that cost totals $1,901.28.
The College Scorecard, a site run by the U.S. Department of Education, puts the average annual cost to attend Daytona State College at $8,867, including tuition, fees, and other expenses. That doesn't take into account scholarships or grants.
What will the increase mean for students?
The increase will cost a student who is taking 12 credit hours for two semesters and graduating in that year an extra $8.84 annually.
Follow the math: The new fee rate will be $1.28 per credit hour minus the previous amount, $1.12 per credit hour, totaling a difference of 16 cents.
Multiply 16 cents by 12 credit hours and you have an annual increase of $1.92. To cover both semesters, double that amount to get $3.84. That's what all students in each year will pay.
Graduating students will have to add $5 more for commencement.
Some lab fees increase, others fall
The increase in student fees doesn't cover lab fees, which are charged separately and have been raised more routinely in the 13-year stretch of no tuition hikes.
The college has a list of the proposed fee changes posted on its website.
The board will meet at 2 p.m. Thursday, June 22, at the Wetherell Student Services and Administration Building (Building 100), in Room 402L.
This article originally appeared on The Daytona Beach News-Journal: DSC tuition, fees have not increased in 13 years. Could that change?
