TCC to freeze tuition, fees this fall

Students at Tidewater Community College won’t have to worry about rising tuition and fees, at least not during the fall.

The State Board for Community Colleges announced Thursday that it made a unanimous decision to freeze tuition and fees for the fall 2020 semester, according to a release from the college.

The release said TCC’s in-state tuition and fees will be locked in at $185.35 per credit hour, and the tuition rate for out-of-state students also will stay the same at $385.45 per credit hour.

It’s the second year in a row the board has voted to freeze tuition and fees for all 23 of the state’s community colleges.

Community college tuition and mandatory fees are approximately onethird of the comparable costs of attending Virginia’s public four-year universities, the release said.

“The decision by the State Board to freeze tuition and fees for the Fall Semester reaffirms our commitment to ensuring access and affordability for our students and their families,” said the college’s president Marcia Conston in the release. “While that is always a priority, it is especially significant during the COVID-19 pandemic.”

Glenn DuBois, chancellor of Virginia’s Community Colleges, said the board understands that some people are out of work due to the pandemic, while others want “safer, convenient options to pursue their college aspirations.”

“We want to be there for them,” DuBois said.