WCC’s Board of Trustees approved the college’s first tuition increase for the first time in six years, April 25. Zakeria Almajrabi | Washtenaw Voice
By Savan Saiya-Cork
Staff Writer
For the first time in six years, WCC will raise its tuition for in-district students. How much more will students have to pay this fall? Four dollars.
There are several reasons why the college will raise its tuition. Inflation and a mounting list of capital projects are the more well-known reasons the college has been pushing for a raise in tuition; however, the more obscure but equally important reason for the price increase is to minimize the college’s dependence on property tax revenue.
Every year the college receives a large amount of money from Washtenaw County’s property tax collection. Since Washtenaw County has the highest property taxes in Michigan, WCC can keep tuition rates lower than other schools with less property tax revenue. But property taxes rise and fall depending on the notoriously unstable housing market. An overreliance on property tax income could hurt WCC’s financial stability.
“We have this fantastic property tax base,” Barnes said, “It does create a risk … If property taxes do decline in a year, it has a tremendous impact on the college.”
As of the 2023 fiscal year, WCC has the most inexpensive cost-per-credit tuition of any Michigan community college. This fact won’t change next year unless other community colleges suddenly drop their prices for fees and tuition.
“If you add in everything, tuition plus fees, Washtenaw is the least expensive community college in the state,” Barnes said.
The tuition increase comes at a time when community college enrollment is declining both in-state and nationwide. WCC President Rose Bellanca said she believes that a major factor in decreased enrollment is the trend of four-year universities providing free college to students whose families have a lower income. The most recent example is Wayne State University, which announced that it would provide free tuition to all students whose families make less than $70,000 a year.
Despite the mounting pressure in the highly competitive market of higher education, Bellanca expressed confidence in WCC’s ability to thrive despite enrollment declines. She emphasized the key reason that WCC chose the school motto, “What do you call someone who went to WCC? Employed.”
“We did that to show how we were so different from EMU and U of M. We are not the first choice, second choice, third choice—we are the only choice when it comes to this market,” Bellanca said.
