Sinclair says fee hike will add $1.6 million
Revenue to boost parking, tutoring at Dayton-based community college.
Sinclair Community College is increasing a number of student fees that combined will bring in around $1.6 million more in revenue for the school.
The downtown Dayton-based college will increase its auxiliary fee from $50 to $85, said spokesman Adam Murka. The auxiliary fee pays for parking, food services and the bookstore, among other things, Murka said.
The increase means the auxiliary fee will now bring in around $3 million as opposed to the $1.8 million it previously generated.
“We’re always trying to address parking,” Murka said. “This is something that will allow us to deploy more resources to it.”
Sinclair’s downtown Dayton campus, including its parking operation, is in the midst of a transformation.
Sinclair has adopted a master plan that overhauls the campus layout to better tie its facilities and parking together. The college plans to invest $80 million to $90 million over the next few years to build an entry gateway, construct a new student services center, alter and add pedestrian pathways and update parking
lots and garages, among other projects.
Along with the parking-related fee increase, Sinclair also will boost fees for nearly a third of its 1,565 courses, Murka said. The bump will yield about $400,000 more in course fees, according to the resolution.
Around half of the increased course fees will go toward more tutoring and intervention services
for math classes, according to a fee analysis provided to Sinclair’s board of trustees. The money will help pay for a math test that is designed to better place students in the right level of math class, said president Steve Johnson.
“Math is one of those gateway courses that either helps out students in college or blocks their success,” Johnson said. “The benefit is that for that little bit of money, we’re going to have a better idea of where they belong.”
While the net revenue from course fees is increasing, Sinclair actually decreased the number of courses with a fee from 690 to 534. The drop means 34 percent of Sinclair’s classes will now require a fee, according to a Sinclair analysis.
The decision to raise fees now comes as part of a review Sinclair does of fees every five years or so, officials said. The fee increase was not in response to any local or state funding shortfall, Johnson said.
Sinclair, which has branches in Eaton, Englewood, Huber Heights and Mason, had just under 18,000 students enrolled as of this spring.
Murka acknowledged the fee could affect some students who struggle with finances but he touted Sinclair as one of the most affordable colleges in the area. Around 47 percent of U.S. community college students have considered dropping out because of financial difficulties, according to a report released last month by Center for Community College Student Engagement.
“A fee increase is something we think seriously about,” Murka said. “We know some of our students are in a place where every nickel counts.”
Sinclair charges just over $99 per class credit hour, according to its website. After grants, scholarships and any other financial aid, the average student pays around $811 out of pocket to take classes, Murka said. An education at Sinclair is worth the money, officials said, because a student’s average pay jumps from about $17,500 to $37,400 a year after graduation.
“You will not ever in your life get a better value for an education,” Johnson said. “I don’t know where else you could invest around $800 in yourself a session, a year or whatever and get a $20,000 pay raise.” Contact this reporter at 937-225-7419 or email Max.Filby@coxinc.com.