Board of Trustees Vote in Favor of Fee Hike

The Massasoit Community College Board of Trustees approved a proposal for raising fees to help offset a potential budget shortfall. Even with the increases, Massasoit will remain in the bottom third for cost of attendance among Massachusetts Community Colleges. Under the plan approved Wednesday, March 28, the general fee per credit will increase from $124 to $138 and the technology fee will increase from $7 per credit to $8.
With this increase a full-time student that takes 30 credits in the 2012-2013 academic year will be paying $5,070 to attend, instead of the $4,650 they would have paid during the 2011-2012 academic year.
Prior to the Board of Trustees voting on the proposal, college President, Dr. Wall and Vice President of Student Services David Tracy, spent a significant amount of time discussing the issue with the Student Senate. Many questions were asked and behind closed doors there was some heated debate among the student senators; but there was one key factor that struck a chord with many of the senators.
The senators were informed that if the Board of Trustees decided not to move forward with the fee increase the college would have no choice but to cut many faculty positions and other “non-essential” areas of the college. Although there are areas of the college that could use improvement, the senate agreed that the school couldn’t afford to lose the great services that are currently in place.
I decided to seek the opinion of a student that was not a member of the student senate. When broached with the topic sophomore Maryann Serrilla stated, “The economy is already overwhelming for most college students. With bills, rent, and family most college students find themselves struggling. The fee increase will be yet another financial difficulty students face while trying to meet their needs.” How do you feel about the fee increase? Let the administration know. Your voice matters!!!