Young Memorial tuition may increase 10%

A 10 percent tuition increase for students attending Louisiana South Central Technical College and Fletcher Technical Community College is on the Louisiana Board of Regents meeting agenda next week.
Full-time students could see an increase of up to $114 at the technical college and $161 at the community college if the full 10 percent is approved, according to calculations based on a document presented to the board by system president Monty Sullivan.
The Louisiana Community and Technical College System Board of Supervisors voted for the tuition and fee increase June 11 for the state’s 11 community colleges and two technical colleges. The regents must sign off on the increase at their next meeting on June 25 before increases can be implemented.
A news release from the Young Memorial campus of the technical college in Morgan City said the administration understands “that any increase in tuition is a concern for the communities we serve. We work hard to always consider the value of the investment each student makes in their lives, their future, and in turn, in our community when they attend our colleges.”
The proposed increases would provide $14.1 million in extra revenue for the entire community and technical college system, according to the document Sullivan presented. The Morgan City campus could get an extra $265,000 while Fletcher, in Schriever, could get up to $550,000.
Increased tuition revenue will be reinvested into the staff and resources required to assure the colleges continue to provide the most innovative and appropriate education possible, the news release said.
Earl Meador, director of the technical college and chancellor of the community college, said, “Never have I heard a student say I want to attend college so I can have a pretty certificate for the wall. … They are on a journey. That journey may be to just obtain a good paying job or perhaps enough training so they can move on to the university system and after that seek the profession they desire. If we don’t do all that is possible to invest in their futures, we have failed in our mission of serving our students and community.”
The extra money from the tuition increase, if approved, would be used to expand programs devoted to high-demand job fields like construction, industrial maintenance and production technology, Sullivan said.
“We need to increase our construction graduates and our production technology graduates,” he said.
The return on investment each LCTCS student receives is always invaluable and, even with an increase, tuition will remain far below the investment required to attend a four-year institution or a private training provider, the news release said.
Meador said state law requires that tuition remain below the Southern Regional Average for Community and Technical Colleges. He said a final determination of how much the rate increases will amount to could be less than the 10 percent figure.
Johnnie Landry, assistant to the director at Young Memorial, said students who demonstrate an economic hardship imposed by the increase can apply for a hardship waiver of the increased tuition fees.
Waivers are available only to Louisiana residents to students who are able to document extenuating circumstances that preclude them from receiving financial assistance, according to the college’s financial aid policy.
In other news at the campus, registration for fall classes begins on July 1. The next registration for Work Ready U, the program for earning a high school equivalency diploma, is July 9 from 8 a.m. to 1 p.m. at the campus located at 900 Youngs Road.
Work Ready U students must be 18 with a valid driver’s license or picture ID or passport, a Social Security Card or Alien ID and $25 (cash only, exact change) for parking permit, ID, and application process.