Tri-County Board Approves Tuition Increase

FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE 4/18/2001
(By Rebecca Eidson)

PENDLETON --- At its April 16 meeting, Tri-County Technical College's Board approved a tuition increase of $250 per semester, raising the current tuition from $600 to $850 per semester effective fall term, 2001.

"A tuition increase is always a last resort for us," said Dr. Don Garrison, Tri-County's President for nearly three decades. "We have been very conservative with increases over the years, but sometimes we find ourselves in circumstances where we can't avoid it. Now is one of those times."

Pending state budget cuts and other factors caused Tri-County's Board to take action at this time. "When you are faced with a 10-15% budget cut at the state level, it will stop you in your tracks," said Dr. Garrison. He went on to comment that the College has spent months closely reviewing the institutional budget and determining where cuts can be made. "We've already frozen some vacant positions and combined several departments," he stated, adding that both actions are saving money, but the results provide minimal impact in light of budget cuts and related fiscal challenges.

According to Dr. Garrison, the pending budget cuts are only part of a much bigger problem. "We have been chronically underfunded by the state for years and years," he stated. He added that Tri-County Technical College and the State Technical College System as a whole are funded at 64% of their Mission Resource Requirement (MRR), which is the average amount of state funding received by similar institutions in the Southeast.

"If we were funded at 100% of MRR, we would not have considered raising tuition at this time," emphasized Dr. Garrison. "And, not only are we funded below the average of similar institutions in the region, we are funded at a lower percentage of MRR than all other institutions of higher education within our own state. This lack of parity means a budget cut will impact the technical college system more than other colleges because we are not funded equitably," he added.

"Quite simply, all this means there is no fat in our budget, and, as such, any cut goes straight to the bone," he said.

He went on to point out that there are ample financial aid and scholarship opportunities that students can take advantage of. "The folks in
our financial aid office will work with students to be sure they are getting everything they are eligible to receive. Thanks to a very generous community and the support of our College Foundation, we have numbers of scholarships available," Dr. Garrison stated. He added that more than $3,000,000 in financial aid and scholarships were distributed to students last year.

"We'll do everything we can to ensure that this tuition increase doesn't prevent anyone from attending our College," Dr. Garrison emphasized.
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