Mo. governor: Community colleges to freeze tuition
November 21st, 2009 | by admin |JEFFERSON CITY, Mo.— Community colleges have joined Missouri’s four-year colleges and universities in agreeing to freeze tuition next school year if state officials promise to nick and not slash their budgets.
Gov. Jay Nixon said Friday that community colleges have promised to not raise tuition for in-state students if their budget cuts are limited to 5.2 percent. The state’s four-year colleges agreed earlier this week to a 5.2 percent budget cut without a tuition increase for in-state undergraduates.
In all, the agreements would allow about $50 million to be cut from higher education without Missouri students paying more for tuition.
The federal stimulus package limits how much states that receive education money can cut higher education budgets without federal permission. Nixon said Friday he believes Missouri’s higher education budget could have been cut by as much as $75 million without a waiver.
The Democratic governor said the agreement with colleges and universities sets Missouri apart from states that are raising tuition. He pointed specifically to California, which has approved a 32 percent fee increase for students attending that state’s top public schools.
“We’re putting our students first. It’s not only the right thing to do
