A 5 percent enrollment drop at Bucks has students worried that another tuition hike will be implemented to make up for lost revenue.

But Bucks President Stephanie Shanblatt says that students have nothing to worry about this year, and everything to look forward to with a plan for a new science building in the works.
“Everything will carry on… Students won’t see any effect. We planned for it,” Shanblatt said.

Faced with dropping enrollment and cuts in government funding, Bucks has raised tuition for the last several years running.

That may happen again next year, but not now, Shanblatt said.

Shanblatt said college officials are working to try to keep tuition increases to a minimum. She said college officials had expected a drop in enrollment, and had drafted this year’s budget to be prepared for that.

According to Professor Jack Ready in an article written on tuition last year, student tuition now makes up approximately 52 percent of the revenue collected for the college’s operating costs, placing a heavy reliance on students.

Despite troubles with tuition Shanblatt was glad to announce Bucks has also been planning to construct another building for new science labs, and should be breaking ground next summer on the far side of Founders Hall across from the Linksz Pavilion.

To fund this new project the college has received money from both the state and county, both paying for about half the expenses. The new building should be completed in about two years and will be house labs for chemistry and biology and be able to accommodate other sciences as well.

Shanblatt says the college wants to promote interaction between students and teachers, and this new building will include collaboration and work spaces for that purpose, including areas where students can communicate with each other or with their professors after class, to ensure they are able to get a full understanding of their lessons.

College officials want to create an addition to Bucks that is “modern,” something distinct and recognizable, like the Linksz Pavilion. Shanblatt says construction of this new building should not be disruptive, and that there should be no restrictions on students during the building process.

As for the enrollment drop, Shanblatt said Bucks is working very hard year round to bring in new students. The college has recruitment programs working in high schools across the county, and has advertisements running on Pandora Radio and Hulu. They are also working with companies and agencies to help offer job training to unemployed people.

Shanblatt said the state of the country’s economy has a significant influence on enrollment. She asserts that as the economy gets better, enrollment will usually increase.