PRCC board approves increase in tuition

The Pearl River Community College Board of Trustees made the decision to raise student tuition during its monthly meeting in Poplarville Tuesday.Beginning in the fall 2010 semester, tuition for full-time students will be $1,000 per semester, an increase of $150. Part-time students will pay $100 per credit hour, an increase of $10 per credit hour. The last time the college raised tuition was in 2008.”We need this increase to help offset a big decrease in our state appropriations for this coming year,” said Chuck Abadie, PRCC spokesman.In fall 2009, PRCC crossed the 5,000-student mark for the first time ever, a 14 percent increase over the previous fall. Spring 2010 enrollment topped 4,800 students, a nearly 13 percent increase over the previous spring.The increases in enrollment keep coming while state funding for community colleges is shrinking.”We are in the process of taking prudent steps to reduce expenditures, all while serving an increasing number of students,” said PRCC President William Lewis.