New tuition rate in effect

New tuition rates are now in effect at the Northern Marianas College, with resident students shelling out $30 more per credit hour beginning August this year.

Students had until yesterday to take advantage of the same tuition rate for their summer classes, which was $65 per credit hour for resident students.

Starting Fall 2006 semester, resident students will have to pay $95 per credit course. This is a 31-percent increase over the old rate.

For a regular 12-credit course, full-time students used to pay $780 per semester. By next Fall, they will be carrying the burden of $1,140 per semester.

For nonresident students, tuition increased by $60—from $130 to $190 per credit. If they used to pay $1,560 for a 12-credit semester, next Fall’s tuition for the same 12-credit course will shoot to $2,280 per semester.

Course fees for School of Education and Nursing Programs that are deemed high maintenance courses were increased to a flat fee of $300 per course, according to NMC president Tony Deleon Guerrero in an earlier interview.

Registration for summer classes started Tuesday and ended yesterday, with credit course rates still at the $65 level. Summer classes being offered include courses in business and computer technology, English, Art, Japanese, history, mathematics, speech, marine biology and more.

“This summer semester will be the last for the current resident tuition rate of $65 per credit hour,” said Wyatt. “Tuition will increase to $95 in the Fall.”

The tuition hike came about after the central government cut NMC’s $8.04 million budget for fiscal year 2006 by $1.5 million. The Fitial administration slashed the college’s budget level due to the ongoing economic difficulty. Fitial had told NMC officials that other government agencies and offices such as the Public School System also need additional assistance, “thus the budget allocation must be carefully and comprehensively spread out.”

The college first announced the rate hike during NMC’s 25th Silver Anniversary Commemoration Day in March.

The board earlier said the move is part of plans to help the college cope with its severely limited budget for the year.

Apart from the tuition hike, the college also halted its hiring requirements. NMC BOR chair Kimberlyn King-Hinds said the hiring freeze would equate to $588,356 in related savings but would also result in fewer instructors, less counselors, and one less school dean.

The college’s operational costs were also cut by $456,222, she said. “That cut will have a direct impact on the quality of our delivery of programs and services,” she said, adding that the cut will tremendously affect their future accreditation with accrediting agencies such as the Western Association of Schools and Colleges.