Tuitions will rise at Maine’s community colleges next year to compensate for a $1.2 million deficit caused by state budget cuts and sharply higher prices for utilities, heating oil and health care.
The board of trustees for the Community College System voted yesterday to increase the cost of each credit hour by $2. Beginning next fall, full-time students in Maine will pay $60 more a year, increasing annual tuition to $2,460, a press release reported.
On top of the higher utility and healthcare bills, the system must contend with a $950,000 reduction in state appropriations for fiscal year 2009.
Maine’s seven community colleges serve nearly 14,000 credit-seeking students, an increase of 3,700 students in the past five years.