Heartland Community College students will pay about $3 more per credit hour in the next fiscal year. (WJBC file photo)

By Adam Studzinski

NORMAL – Students at Heartland Community College will see an increase in tuition and fees beginning in the fiscal year which starts this summer.

The school's Board of Trustees on Tuesday approved a 2 percent tuition and fees increase. That equates to $3 more per credit hour.

President Rob Widmer said Heartland looks at a number of factors when considering this type of increase.

"Trying to analyze what is the most logical picture of projection of revenues that we would have available and managing our expenses and looking at expenses where we feel confident we know where those expenses are going to fall," Widmer said.

Widmer explained the school tried to make sure the increase would have the least amount of impact as possible on students.

"The tuition increase was what we felt was the amount that we really needed to have to proceed budgetarily this year," he said.

Widmer said Heartland does have about $300,000 in scholarship money available which could help lower the financial impact to any current or prospective students.

Adam Studzinski can be reached at [email protected].