Slight tuition, fee increases for Camden County College

Camden County College will increase its tuition and fees slightly next school year and make budget cuts of about $1.8 million as its operating budget shrinks because of ever-rising costs and flat government funding.

The school's board of trustees approved the budget at its meeting Tuesday night. The tuition and fee increases were adopted in March.

Total cost per credit at Camden County College will increase $5 next year to $138 for in-county students, $142 for out-of-county students, and $217 for international students. The increase comes from a $3 increase to tuition and a $2 increase to the general service fee.

Burlington County College has announced that it will increase its cost per credit by $5, to $125.50 for in-county students. Gloucester County College students will see an increase of $7.50 per credit, to $126.50.

At Camden County College, the effect of the cost increase on full-time students - those taking 12 to 15 credits per semester - will amount to $120 to $150 per year.

The cost remains higher at Camden County College than at nearby Gloucester and Burlington, in part because it is a larger operation. U.S. Department of Education information from the 2011-12 school year shows that CCC students took almost twice as many credit hours as GCC students and 23 percent more credits than BCC students.

At the same time, proposed state and county funding to the college remains flat. The school expects to receive $10.2 million from the state and $9.2 million from the county next year - the same level of support as this year. Tuition and fees are projected to bring $45.6 million in revenue.

The tuition increases weren't enough to offset cost increases given the unchanged government funding, the school said, resulting in budget cuts of $1.8 million.

All told, the school's operating budget will decrease to $73,970,455, a decline of $421,707.

"This year's budget includes increased costs for benefits, wages, and debt service, as well as new costs associated with the operation of our new, 107,000-square-foot science building," CCC president Raymond Yannuzzi said in a statement. "Tuition and general-service-fee increases were necessary, along with budget cuts across the college, to offset these increased costs in combination with level county and state funding."

Gloucester County College's budget will increase by $1.2 million to $38.2 million, and Burlington County College's budget will rise $400,000 to $43.2 million.

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