MCCC's tuition ranked among nation's lowest

The U.S. Department of Education has added Monroe County Community College to its list of public two-year institutions with the lowest average net prices in the country.

The average net price is the cost of attendance at the institution after both grant and scholarship assistance has been deducted.

Based on data collected by the National Center for Education Statistics, MCCC's 2008-09 academic year's average net price for a full time student was $2,790, which is less than half of the national average net price of $6,780 for similar institutions.

Joe Verkennes, director of marketing at MCCC, said that in April there was a $5 increase per credit hour for students, which is the biggest increase the school has enacted on a year-to-year basis.

Currently, Monroe County students attending MCCC pay $77 per credit hour. Students from outside the county but within the state of Michigan pay $132, and out of state students pay $147.

Adriana Phelan, vice president of public policy for the Michigan Community College Association, announced and congratulated MCCC President David Nixon on the accomplishment via email on June 30.

"We've always been one of the most affordable institutions in the state," Mr. Ver- kennes said. "So this solidifies the fact for us that we're not only one of the lowest costing in the state of Michigan, but also in the nation."

Mr. Verkennes said MCCC's Board of Trustee's has been committed to keep tuition low for students.

State funding has decreased consistently in the past decade for MCCC, as have property taxes

Mr. Verkennes said tuition is the only portion of their funding equation that they have any kind of control over.

"It's been really difficult for a lot of institutions since the recession hit to keep tuition low, and we've managed to do that here and we're pretty proud of that," he said.

In other news, MCCC was also recently given a grant of $100,000 from the Charles E. Schell, a Trustee of Fifth Third Bank Foundation, to establish a revolving loan fund to provide interest-free educational assistance loans to students.

The loans will be administered by MCCC's Financial Aid office and will help students who may otherwise be unable to finish their education. The loan is payable over four years.

Once a student has paid off the loan, the Schell Foundation will issue a check annually back to MCCC for lending to future students.

Contact Payton Willey at: paytonwilley@theblade.com or 419-724-6065.