The State Fair Community College Board of Trustees voted at Tuesday’s meeting to increase tuition rates for the 2017-18 school year.
Under the approved proposal, rates will increase $5 a credit hour for in-district students to $105 per credit hour.
Rates for out-of-district residents, including out-of-state residents and international students, will increase $10 per hour.
Missouri residents not living in-district will pay $160 per credit hour, out-of-state residents will see their tuition set at $220 per credit hour and international students will pay $260 per credit hour.
Dual credit classes will increase $3 a credit hour to $79.
The approved rates will be effective for the fall 2017 semester through the summer 2018 semester.
“We looked very carefully at ways we could keep our tuition rates affordable,” board President Randall Eaton said during the meeting. “We need to be responsible to everyone including both the students and also in keeping a balanced budget.
“I want to thank the faculty and staff for their efforts in keeping their costs down and finding ways to save money in their departments,” Eaton added.
Both Eaton and SFCC President Dr. Joanna Anderson commented that the increase will still keep the college competitive with other two-year colleges in terms of tuition rates.
“We may not have the lowest tuition,” Anderson remarked, “But we are definitely not the highest either.
“While our enrollment looks positive, we have budgeted for a 2 percent decrease in enrollment for this fall,” Anderson added. “The tuition increase reflects the need of the college to balance the budget in light of statewide cuts to education.”
As part of the tuition increase the board also voted to set the technology fee at $15 per credit hour, with online fees at $50 per credit hour.
Tiered tuition rates will increase proportionately to the base.
Tuition for Whiteman Air Force Base, as previously approved, is set at the in-district tuition rate in effect at the time the memorandum of understanding is revised and executed.
During the meeting it was announced by Dr. Rhonda Hutton Gann, associate dean of Health Services, that Whiteman students pursuing a degree in nursing will be able to take part in the first and only in the nation pilot nursing program.
“SFCC is collaborating with Whiteman Air Force Base to provide specific active duty military personnel the opportunity to receive training for SFCC’s level two (RN) nursing program,” Hutton-Gann told the board. “SFCC has received tentative approval from the Missouri State Board of Nursing for this pilot project that is expected to start August 2017.”
Hutton Gann added that anticipated approval for the program will come from the Missouri Department of Higher Education in June.
The board also heard an institutional report from Mark Haverly, chief information officer for IT services. Anderson asked Haverly to address the board in light of recent threats to internet security.
“Security is something we definitely do not take lightly,” Haverly said. “We work hard to make sure we have the right things in place to protect our systems.
“We have a great team here who are very diligent,” he added. “We monitor our systems all the time and our back-ups are tested and retested.
Haverly commented that the college has a great fire wall in place and added that one of the best security systems the college employs is the staff members themselves.
“The best practice we have has to do with our users,” Haverly said. “We encourage all of them to think before they click ‘open’ on any file or document.”
In other actions the board voted to accept:
• A proposal from Guardian Dental Insurance for Fiscal Year 2018 for dental insurance. The board-paid rate for each full-time employee will be $23.98 per month. The proposed family rate is $65.84 per month. The 2017-18 renewal premium is the same as last year. This rate has been factored into the 2018 budget under development.
• The proposal from Guardian Life of America for vision insurance for 2018. The local agency of Insurance & Benefits Group LLC will be noted as the agent of record. The renewal rates for the vision plan, which is optional and paid for by the employee, did not increase from 2017.
• The proposal from Guardian Life Insurance Co. of America for the Group Life and AD&D for FY18. The local agency of Insurance & Benefits Inc. will be designated as the agent of record. The 2017-18 renewal premium is the same as last year.
• The proposal from First Agency of Kalamazoo, Michigan, for FY18 athletic and catastrophic insurance for $21,615. The 2017-18 renewal premium is the same as last year.
• The bid from Dugan’s Paint and Flooring of Sedalia for $54,752.50 for lighting boxes and refinishing at the Stauffacher Theater. The board also approved the project budget be established in the amount of $65,000 inclusive of architect’s fees, project bids, permits, and a contingency. The funding source for these projects are from the Stauffacher funds used as a part of the Title III Endowment Challenge Grant.
• The purchase of an UTV BRUTUS Diesel Commercial vehicle from Yeager’s Cycle of Sedalia for $30,155. The tractor is a 24-horsepower model equipped with a loader, broom, forks, blade and bucket from Ag-Power also of Sedalia for $43,539. Both vehicles are purchased through the existing facility management budget.
• The hiring of Kelsey Stuart as a biology instructor, Dustin Walbourn as an English instructor and Kariss Knedgen as a student Success Coach, TRiO, and the resignation of Michele Hunolt as director of admissions and outreach.
