CCP board to vote on 9.4% tuition hike, its first increase in nine years
If approved, students would pay $174 per credit hour, up $15 from the current cost of $159.
The Community College of Philadelphia’s board of trustees is poised to vote Thursday on a 9.4% tuition hike, the school’s first increase since 2017-18.
The change would amount to an increase of $15 per credit hour. Students currently pay $159 per credit hour; if the proposed tuition hike is approved, the cost would rise to $174 beginning with the fall 2026 semester.
A full-time student takes a minimum of 12 credits per semester; about 66% of students though were part-time as of last fall. The college last spring had an enrollment of 12,400 credit students and 1,381 noncredit students, and enrollment is up 5% this spring, the school said.
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The tuition hike would come as the college copes with inflation, proposed flat funding from the state for the second consecutive year, and costs from contracts reached with its faculty and staff union last year. The contracts are expected to cost the school $54 million over four years, the college said.
Union leaders say inadequate state and city funding is the culprit.
“This is a result of the city and the state not stepping up to pay their fair share,” said Junior Brainard, co-president of the faculty and staff union.
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The city’s $39 million in funding for the college is about $5 million less than it was a couple years ago, Brainard said.
“There really is a simple solution,” Brainard said. “Restore the funding and students won’t have to be handed a higher tuition bill.”
Brainard said he’s concerned that the tuition increase could cause some students to forgo education at CCP.
“Already students are struggling to support themselves,” he said. “They are working full time and sometimes supporting families. Any tuition hike is going to have a significant impact.”
About 60% of CCP students receive federal Pell grants geared toward those from lower income families, which would still cover the cost of tuition even with the increase, the college said.