During the 2021 Truth in Tuition hearing on March 2, the president of Salt Lake Community College, Deneece Huftalin, kept students updated on the probable tuition increase coming next school year.
“That’s one of our commitments to you, to try to keep tuition as low as possible,” Huftalin said during the hearing, which was held virtually on Zoom.
Full-time, resident, undergraduate SLCC students will see a 2.43% overall increase in tuition and fees for the 2021-22 academic year, totaling $97.
According to The Salt Lake Tribune, SLCC tuition will increase $144, or 4.13%. A reallocation of student fees led to a $47 net decrease in that category.
A proposal submitted by SLCC lists six student fee items that moved under tuition, including The Globe, resulting in a “14.3% fee reduction for most students.”
SLCC originally asked to raise its tuition rate 0% to 2% during the 2021 general session of the Utah Legislature.
Andrew Christiansen, a journalism and digital media major, isn’t stressing over the amount.
“It doesn’t seem like too bad of an increase. As a community college, maybe they could benefit a lot from getting a little more money through the cost of tuition,” Christiansen said.
Why the increase?
Every year, the Utah Legislature approves SLCC’s funding, compensation increase, and larger operational expenses that are requested through the legislative session.
The legislature only gives SLCC 75% of the compensation needs of the college, relying on SLCC to obtain the remaining 25% through tuition.
How it works
Every year, SLCC has a series of budget sessions to review funding received by the legislature. Decisions are made in February, March, and April about how the following academic year will look in terms of things needed by the college and staff as well as requisite increases in tuition and fees for students. The school’s priorities drive budget decisions.
The five goals of the institution:
- Increase student completion.
- Improve transfer preparation and pathways.
- Align with and respond to workforce needs.
- Achieve equity in student participation and completion.
- Secure institutional sustainability and capacity.
“I think that’s important for you as students to know because most of the things we are going to resource in our budget process are positions or programs that support one of these five goals,” Huftalin said.
