For Immediate Release
Contact: Nancy O’Brien 616-234-4213 or Vicki Hudson 616-234-4206
TRUSTEES APPROVE TUITION HIKE AT GRCC
President gives 2% of salary to Foundation; Leadership freezes own salaries
May 18, 2009 – Grand Rapids MI – In a time when the rising cost of a college education is in the news almost daily, Grand Rapids Community College has some positive news. The GRCC Board of Trustees voted unanimously this evening to raise tuition for Kent County residents by only 2.4% for Fall 2009. And the new college president, Dr. Steven Ender has voluntarily cut his own salary to show students that rising costs will not be their burden alone.
Ender told the board he is donating 2% of his contracted salary back to the Grand Rapids Community College Foundation, and all GRCC vice presidents and deans have voluntarily agreed to take a salary freeze for 2009-2010.
The Trustees approved the voluntary salary changes and set tuition increases as follows:
- Resident: $ 2.00 or 2.4% to $84.50 per contact hour
- Non-resident: $ 8.00 or 4.6% to $181.00 per contact hour
- Out of State: $15.00 or 5.9% to $268.00 per contact hour
Citing heightened student and employer expectations for technology, the decision was also made to raise the campus Technology Fee to $5.00 per contact hour, capping it at 15 contact hours.
“As usual, these increases have been kept to a minimum,” said Vice President of Financial Services Bob Partridge. “Our goal is always to keep costs down for our students, yet we need to provide them with the level of resources and services they need to be successful – including sharing information that can help them receive financial aid.”
The acquisition of the downtown Davenport campus, which will be funded through the sale of bonds and private donations, will allow GRCC to serve an additional 600 students this fall. According to Board Chairperson Gary Schenk, the tuition hike is not related to the purchase of the Davenport campus.
“We want the community and taxpayers to be really clear on this point:” said Schenk, “the move to purchase Davenport was strategic and deliberate – we need to serve the needs of this community and not turn students away. We are not putting that campus acquisition on the backs of our students or the community.”
“This college is an anchor for this community and we simply cannot afford to be turning students that need us away,” said GRCC President Steven Ender. “We have to continue to find ways to meet needs downtown and throughout our service region.”
Grand Rapids Community College, established in 1914, offers both liberal arts and workforce development degrees, classes and workshops. Student enrollment on the urban campus for both credit and non-credit courses is approximately 28,000 this year.
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