ECC Trustees Approve Tuition Bump

The East Central College Board of Trustees on Feb. 1 approved a bump in tuition costs beginning in the fall 2021 semester.

There will be a $5 credit hour tuition increase across the board for students who live within the district, outside the district and for international students. The amount paid in student fees will not change, but the fee schedule was reorganized to increase the amount earmarked for support services and technology.

ECC President Dr. Jon Bauer said the increase was determined by a subcommittee on tuition, which presented its findings to administration.

He added that the tuition increase places ECC in the “middle of the pack” among other community colleges in Missouri, but those schools may not have made a decision yet on 2021 tuition.

“We are early in this process,” Dr. Bauer said. “I think it better for our students to do this before they begin registering for classes.”

Registration for fall 2021 classes begins March 22 for current students and March 29 for new students.

The subcommittee on tuition has recommended smaller, incremental tuition increases in lieu of larger, sporadic increases.

Tuition Tiers

There are two tiers of tuition at ECC. Tier 1 includes most programs, as well as general education classes. Tier 2 consists of classes in culinary arts, industrial maintenance technology, nursing and precision machining programs.

The new in-district tuition rates will be $110 per credit hour for Tier 1 classes. In-district rates for Tier 2 classes will be $134 per credit hour.

The cost for dual credit in the 2020-21 academic year will be $55 per credit hour, also an increase of $2 per hour.

Out-of-district rates will be $156 and $190 per credit hour for Tier 1 and Tier 2, respectively.

The rates per credit hour for out-of-state students will be $230 for Tier 1 and $281 for Tier 2. Tuition for international students will be $236 per credit hour for Tier 1, and $301 per credit hour for Tier 2.

Student Fees

The student fees will remain $27 per credit hour; however, there are slight changes in the areas where the fees will be spent. Listed below is the fee breakdown and how it was changed:

• Student Activities $8.50 per credit hour (previously $6.50).
• Support Services $1.00 per credit hour (previously $3.50).
• Technology $3.00 per credit hour (previously $5.00).
• Facilities $7.00 per credit hour (unchanged).
• Security $7.50 per credit hour (previously $5.00).