Staying with the story
The Springfield News-Sun was the first to report on Clark State’s proposed new tuition program last month, and will keep you up to date on all further developments.
Clark State Community College’s proposed Tuition Challenge Program was approved by the Ohio Board of Regents Friday, which could mean up to a 10-percent discount for students and a larger student body for the school.
The program will begin with the fall semester. It allows students to get a 5- to 10-percent tuition reduction for taking more credit hours and maintaining good grades. It was first approved at Clark State’s Board of Trustees’ March meeting.
“If this would cause the current number of students who are at nine credit hours to take 12, and those with 12 credit hours to take 15, the program would pay for itself,” Clark State President Jo Alice Blondin said. “It incentivizes them and increases our amount of credit hours taken. It just makes sense.”
Students who take 12 or more credit hours, receive a grade of C or better in each course and enroll in 12-14 credit hours the following semester will receive a 5-percent reduction in tuition for that following semester.
For students who meet those requirements, but enroll full-time — 15 or more credit hours — the second semester will be discounted 10 percent. Students can keep the discounts throughout their time at Clark State, which also has a campus in Beavercreek, as long as they meet grade and credit-hour requirements.
Clark State’s plan comes in advance of Senate Bill 4, which if passed would require each school to develop a plan for reducing in-state cost of attendance by a minimum of 5 percent in time for the 2016-17 academic year.
Community colleges have always been affordable, Blondin said, but Clark State wanted to be responsive to lawmakers, students and families concerned about the cost of education.
“We wanted to demonstrate our commitment to students who are motivated to make education a priority,” she said. “This is a direct response to affordability, and to the students finishing their education. Now the students can make the choice to move to full time, and that’s something we wanted to incentivize.”
A larger student body would bring more funding to Clark State from the state, which uses performance-based measures to determine the school’s success.
“Doesn’t it make sense to align our cost structure with the performance measures?” Blondin asked. “That’s what we are doing, and giving the students an incentive to move more quickly through their education.”
The college is in the process of implementing the discount program, so more information about it will be released in the coming weeks. The current tuition rate for 12 credit hours at Clark State is $1,672. For 15 credit hours, it’s $2,090.
Clark State Student Senate President Dan Malone said in a news release that the program will save students money.
“Typically it can be a long turnaround for policy changes. To see it ready for this fall is amazing,” he said.”The board definitely has student concerns in mind.”.
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