Northwest Tuition
by Julie Bauer
6/17/05

The Northwest Mississippi Community College Board of Trustees Thursday approved a $200 tuition increase for the 2005-06 academic year to maintain the quality of the college's programs of study and to meet the demands of its surging enrollment.

Tuition for in-state students at all Northwest campuses will be $850 per semester (12 or more hours) beginning this fall, up from a state-low of $650 per semester last year. The cost per semester hour for part-time, in-state students also increased from $60 to $80.

"We didn't go up at all last year, while all of the other community colleges did, and we ended up having the lowest tuition in the state," said Northwest President David M. Haraway. "We have to respond to the growth we are having, and we need to hire new teachers."

Out-of-state students will pay an additional $1,000 per semester (12 or more hours) or $155 per semester hour.

Lab fees, which ranged from $15 to $25 last year, were adjusted by the Board of Trustees to a flat $20 fee for 2005-06.

Northwest has the third-highest enrollment among Mississippi's 15 community colleges. Enrollment in fall 2004 rose to a record 6,676 students, and college officials expect it to edge closer to 7,000 this fall.