With Bucks getting $2 million less in funding from the state than it once did, the pressure is on to make up the difference and that could mean more tuition increases for students.
Cuts in funding made by the commonwealth of Pennsylvania and a steady decline in full-time student enrollment are forcing Bucks to raise tuition which is being felt by the student body.
All of which makes this a tricky time, budget-wise, for Bucks President Dr. James Linksz.
“The college is funded by three primary sources: the county of Bucks, the commonwealth of Pennsylvania and student tuition,” explained Linksz. “The state has cut back its support by $2 million.”
With the current cut by the state, certain decisions have been made in order to keep the college budget balanced.
“The net effect is not that we are operating a deficit, the college is not in difficulty, we are not in the red. Our board of trustees always adopts a balanced budget which means they expect that our expenditures will be held to the amount of revenue that we have,” Linksz said.
Linksz added, “Knowing that was the case, the college has made adjustments, both on the expenditure side by cutting certain expenses that it could, or delaying certain purchases, but it also did result in a student tuition increase.”
Students expect a tuition increase, but with the cuts in financial support by the state, tuition has been raised more than ever.
Linksz said, “There has been a student tuition increase almost every year since the college has been founded however, the fact that the state’s share has dropped put a little more pressure on the tuition side, so student tuition actually went up $3 more than it has in the past. The year before, student tuition went up about $7. This year it went up $10.”
“One of the things our trustees are always very concerned about is not raising tuition too much so that the college becomes unaffordable for our students,” Linksz added.
Community colleges are known for being a cheaper alternative to a four-year university, while still offering the option of transferring to a four-year university.
Linksz explained, “One of the things the trustees look at every year is what other colleges and universities cost, relative to Bucks.
Students are not necessarily selecting to go to Bucks or Montgomery Community College, they’re trying to make a decision.”
For in-county residents, a five-credit semester at Bucks costs about $1,732, Montgomery County College runs at about $2,136 while Temple University charges roughly $13,891 for a full-time undergraduate.
“The actual dollars that their tuition is going up far exceeds ours and so what is happening is that community college is going up on a low curve but four-year college tuition is going up at a much higher level,” Linksz said.
Not only are growing tuition costs an issue, but so are the number of students enrolling at Bucks straight out of high school.
“The fact that students coming from high school is going down is more driven by the fact that there are fewer high school graduates,” Linksz explained.
Linksz added, “The numbers of students graduating from high schools is going down. It started in 2009 and will continue as projected to keep doing down for several years to come, so the college could still get 20 percent of the high school graduating classes, but it would end up being less students.”
Bucks student Jesse Fruman finds tuition increases annoying.
“It’s kinda frustrating, because financial aid only offers you so much on your tuition, and if tuition goes up that’s less money you can spend on books,” Fruman said.
Erica Albert, also a Bucks student, said she doesn’t mind it as much.
“I don’t pay for tuition myself, because I’m on financial aid, but I do think that tuition should stay the same once you’re enrolled” Albert said.
Bucks is not the only institution affected by this issue Linksz said.
“Many of the four-year colleges are reporting decreases in enrollment, particularly decreases in first time, full-time enrollments straight out of high school,” Linksz said.
There could also be another reason why fewer students are enrolling full-time straight out of high school.
Linksz explained, “There is another phenomenon that is also occurring that is not necessarily directly related to high school graduates coming directly to college, but there are other things that are happening both nationally and locally that I think are converting some full-time students to part-time students. Some of that may be financial, some of that may simply be that under the new health care regulations students don’t have to be a full-time student anymore to have health care coverage under their parents plan. So, students do not necessarily have to take a full load of classes and some of them may be electing not to.”
There are many changes happening at Bucks relating to tuition costs, enrollment rates, and physical appearance. In time, the long-term effects of these changes will be seen.