Tuition Will Increase At Chicago's City Colleges This Fall
By Rachel Cromidas in News on Jul 11, 2015 4:00PM
The cost of taking classes at City Colleges of Chicago is slated to increase this fall after the Board of Trustees approved the price hike in a meeting on Thursday.
Rather than continue with the method of charging students for tuition via a pay per class credit system, the colleges will now charge a flat fee of $599 per course whether the student is full- or part-time. That flat rate means tuition would go up an average of $225 a year for some students, according to WBEZ.
The Board of Trustees faced some criticism for slipping in the decision during the summer, when many affected students are on vacation and unable to comment on it. Some dissenters also said it was unfair to increase tuition when many students already enrolled in fall classes weeks ago with the understanding of the old payment system being in place.
Chancellor Cheryl Hyman said that the budget uncertainties in Springfield were rationale for the price increase.
“When fall registration opened in April, we still did not have clarity on state funding plans, so we could not finalize nor communicate a tuition change,” said Hyman, according to WBEZ. She said the new payment system would also encourage more students to enroll full-time and complete school faster, since part-time students would be hit the hardest by the change.
A part-time student told WBEZ that this plan penalizes students for "complicated lives" that might require them to earn a living while taking classes.