The Foothill-De Anza Community College Board of Trustees discussed and passed nonresident tuition increases, the demolition of the Flint Center and the construction of a walkway on Foothill College at a special meeting on Feb. 27 in the district office, located at Foothill.
Quarterly tuition is calculated as a baseline, with the cost of units not taken into account. The current quarterly tuition for nonresident students at Foothill-De Anza is $239 (with each additional unit costing $31), but according to Education Code Section 76140 the district must meet the statewide average which is currently $271 (with each additional unit costing $32).
In February last year, the Board of Trustees voted to raise nonresident tuition by 8% (18 dollars) from $221 to the current rate.
California Community Colleges Chancellor Sonya Christian gave community college districts the option to enact a gradual increase in tuition rather than an instant tuition hike, to mitigate its impact on students. The program is also subject to change.
“This is just this year’s increase that we’re phasing in,” Vice Chancellor Susan Chu said. “Next year we’ll have an increase or possibly decrease.”
The projected plan, which assumes the target cost of $271 will persist, raises the nonresident tuition by 2.5% (six dollars) annually for four years and 2.8% the last year.
For a nonresident student enrolling in fall quarter 2029, assuming no further increases in tuition, obtaining their associate’s degree (90 quarter units spread out over six quarters) will cost at least $336 more than a nonresident student that enrolled in fall quarter 2022.
Beginning March 1, base enrollment will cost nonresident students $245.
Board member Patrick Ahrens asked about how the additional revenue from the hike could be allocated to support international students.
Jennifer Brook Beltz, executive director of Foothill’s international student programs, referenced a study of other California and Washington state community colleges’ programs for international students.
The study outlined housing support services which would help students locate safe and affordable housing, expanding retention support services to encourage students to stay with the college longer and expansion of transportation services such as free shuttle rides for all students. There are also plans to ask students for their input.
Brook Beltz, in response, said the district should account for how volatile funds allocated from tuition are when deciding what programs to implement.
“During the pandemic we lost $10 million in a very short period of time,” Chu said. “I am supportive of the services … but I want to caution us to make sure that if we lose the funding we can easily roll back without causing undue hardship.”
Board President Peter Landsberger spoke in support of these ideas.
“The reinvestment of some of this revenue to services for international students in particular but on resident students in general … is a very good idea,” Landsberger said. “It increases our ability to market to that target audience.”
The board passed the tuition increase unanimously.
Two other topics were covered which pertained to Measure G, the $898 million grant for Foothill and De Anza college: the board passed both the demolition of the Flint Center and the construction of a new accessible path at Foothill unanimously, with brief discussion.
The Board of Trustees will hold another special meeting at the district office building on March 4 on Zoom.
