By WMBD-TV
NORMAL – The board of trustees at Heartland Community College approved on Tuesday a 1.65% tuition increase that starts with the summer semester.
The cost per credit hour will be $185, which includes a $2 per hour increase in tuition and a $1 increase in student fees.
A student carrying a 12-hour semester course load will see a semester tuition increase from $2,184 to $2,220.
Steve Fast, assistant to the president, said the increase is smaller than what has been enacted in previous years.
“The college’s overall strategy is to spread out any increases in tuition to small increments year to year instead of larger increments every few years,” Fast said. This approach is part of the college’s overall cost-containment strategy.
According to the action item from the meeting agenda, college administrators met with Student Senate leaders several times in January and February to discuss strategic goals and priorities from the financial reports. The Student Senate agreed with the recommendation to increase rates.
In other business, the trustees approved a $2.95 million project to renovate its science labs. Construction of the first phase will take place this summer. The second phase of the project is planned for the summer of 2025. Reed Construction’s bid of $1.9 million for the first phase was approved.
A work proposal of $476,194 by Kone Inc. to rebuild elevators in the Community Commons Building and the Instructional Commons Building was also approved.
Also, the trustees agreed to name the renovated space for student veterans the Penn Family Student Veterans Center.
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