Heartland College students to see tuition and fee increase

Posted on February 19, 2020

By HOI ABC

NORMAL – For the third straight year, trustees of Heartland Community College are raising the cost of attending the school.

News partner Heart of Illinois ABCr reports the board voted unanimously Tuesday night to boost tuition and fees by $5 per credit hour to $163, with the increase expected to generate about $500,000 for the fiscal year starting July 1.

The board chose to enact a series of smaller tuition and fee hikes rather than a larger one-time increase.

Administrators noted in a report to the board that more money is needed because of anticipated salary increases, a deficit in the current budget, and volatility in projected tax revenue.

A task force released a report last year that called on the district to keep the overall property tax rate unchanged, while at the same time maintain students’ costs at “reasonable” levels.

“While the anticipated ranking of Heartland’s tuition compared to other Illinois community colleges is not yet available, staff does not anticipate that this change will result in an appreciable change in position for total tuition and universal fees rate of all Illinois community colleges,” Heartland’s staff said in its report to the board.

“At this new rate, Heartland will continue to be the most affordable higher education option in the district,” the report said.

The Heartland Community College District covers McLean, Livingston, and Logan Counties.

WJBC News can be reached at [email protected]

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