DCC tuition rising by $286/year in 2019-20
It will cost 7.4 percent more per year to attend Dutchess Community College starting this fall.
County lawmakers on Tuesday unanimously approved a $64.6 million college operating budget for the 2019-20 academic year that will increase full-time tuition by $286 per year and part-time tuition by $12 per credit hour.
Full-time tuition at the twoyear college for 2019-20 will be $4,150, up from the 2018-19 level of $3,864.
In addition to tuition, students pay a variety of fees as well as the cost of books and other curriculum materials.
The amount that Dutchess County contributes to the college’s operating will increase by $500,000, to $16,787,898, for 201920.
The spending total in the new budget is $1,115,000 lower than the 2018-19 level because of declining enrollment a the college. As a result, the college expects a decrease in state aid.
The state legislation that created the community college system assumed the costs of the colleges would be born equally by the state, the county and students, with each contributing onethird to the operating budget. But Dutchess Community College, like most community colleges in New York, has rarely achieved that anticipated level of cost sharing.
Under DCC’s 2019-20 budget, tuition is to cover 30 percent of the college’s operating budget, while the state will kick in 29 percent and the county 26 percent. The additional 15 percent will come from grants and other nongovernmental funding streams.
In a press release announcing the adoption of DCC’s budget, Legislature Chairman Gregg Pulver, who also is a college trustee, said it was a difficult year for the college due to the lower enrollment.
“The declining enrollment is a statewide trend as the economy keeps trending up and as the youth population declines,” said Pulver, R-Pine Plains.
In the upcoming year, the college will focus on its new satellite location in Fishkill and its Aviation School at the county airport, Pulver said, because those are areas where the college can improve and attract new students.