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Sinclair president urges tuition, fee hike; board won't act on it today

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By Dave Larsen, Staff Writer Updated 1:28 AM Saturday, January 30, 2010

DAYTON — Sinclair Community College President Steven Lee Johnson said Thursday, Jan. 28, he would ask the college’s board of trustees Saturday to seek state permission to raise tuition and fees so that it more closely matches that of Lorain County Community College, which has the second-lowest tuition rate in Ohio.

On Friday, however, Madeline Iseli, Johnson’s chief of staff, said the board does not plan to take action “on any tuition issue at all” when it meets Saturday.

Johnson said Thursday he would ask the board Saturday to “move forward on the request for a special fee exception (from the state) to allow us to readjust our tuition and fees.”

“It’s my goal to remain the lowest in the state of Ohio, but I would like to get right up to the second lowest — whatever would close that gap or at least narrow that gap,” Johnson said.

Sinclair’s $2,050 annual tuition for full-time Montgomery County students is the lowest in Ohio. Lorain’s annual tuition is $2,400. The $350 difference represents a 17 percent gap.

Both colleges are supported by county levies.

Sinclair spokeswoman Natasha Baker said any increase would not be done all at once.

Sinclair’s board in September approved a 3.5 percent tuition increase that started this month with the winter quarter. The college had kept tuition frozen for 12 of the last 19 years.

The request for a special fee exception must be approved by the board, then granted by the Ohio Board of Regents and Controlling Board.

A copy of the board’s itinerary for Saturday’s meeting, provided Thursday by Johnson, included 10 recommendations for the board, including one that said “if the special fee exception is granted by the Chancellor and Controlling Board, the Trustees should implement the full fee as soon as possible.”

Iseli said Friday the recommendations “are just meant for the long range planning discussions that typically take place” when the board holds its annual strategic review and planning meeting.

Sinclair has seen record enrollment in recent years, with 25,158 degree and credit course students, and 14,887 full-time equivalent (FTE) students, for the winter term.

Contact this reporter at (937) 225-2419 or dlarsen@DaytonDailyNews.com.

From a folder of information Sinclair Community College President Steven Johnson said the college's board of trustees would review at it's meeting Saturday, Jan. 30.

Sinclair’s Opportunities and Risks

THE SINCLAIR PRESIDENT’S OBSERVATIONS AND RECOMMENDATIONS

Sinclair President Steve Johnson prepared the following observations for the 2010 Board Advance. Organized around four core strategic values of the college, there is a page of observations and recommendations for each strategic core value. It presents a concise view synthesized from his view of internal operations, student and community needs, and policy direction within Ohio. President Johnson’s recommendations include:

1. Continue the investment in the Dayton campus and invest in the next growth-in-capacity phase for the Courseview Campus. Also, gain control of ample land (20 to 100 acres) in the proximity of Courseview to allow for subsequent expansion phases in the coming 10 to 20 years.

2. Create more significant K12 relationships to reach students (and their families) before high school.

3. Develop additional quality improvement initiatives with external national partners.

4. Initiate the development of new programs and services to align to the changing regional economy. Initiate the development of Centers of Excellence. Create a $250,000 investment fund for new program research and development to be expended over the next 24 months.

5. Strengthen local relationships (to go from good to great relations) with WPAFB, UD, WSU, and several other important industry and economic development organizations.

6. Place continued attention on Sinclair’s alignment with the Ohio Regents, accrediting agencies, and the federal agency and private foundation policy stances toward higher education.

7. Place continued attention to calls for more and clearer accountability of resources used and student outcomes.

8. If the recent surge in enrollment levels are sustained, Sinclair should permanently add personnel to adjust to this new size level.

9. If the special fee exception is granted by the Chancellor and Controlling Board, the Trustees should implement the full fee as soon as possible.

10. If a significant state revenue downturn is realized in FY 2012, the college should soften the transition needed through a combination of spending its rainy day funds, increasing tuition, and cutting operations.

The draft information and/or analysis contained in this document were prepared for internal purposes only and do not necessarily constitute a final decision or position of Sinclair Community College. This document could contain hypothetical and speculative ideas, and/or data, that have not been verified as valid or accurate.

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