Brookdale announces 5.1 percent tuition hike

MIDDLETOWN - Although student enrollment is at an all-time high of over 14,000, Brookdale Community College's Board of Trustees have still decided to raise tuition and fees by 5.1 percent following a unanimous vote last Thursday.

"With record growth comes an increased need for student services and programs," Board of Trustees Chair Howard Birdsall said in a press release. "Without additional aid, the tuition increase is our only option."

The current tuition of $98 per credit would be raised to $103 per credit, effective July 1, 2007. An increase in general fees, based on 22 percent tuition cost, will set at $22.66 per credit. The new maximum tuition rate for the academic year will be set at $3,770 for an in-county student.

According to the Board of Trustees, the budget has been worked on for the past five months, and the operating budget will be about $82.7 million, as opposed to approximately $75 and $78 million the previous two years. In the new budget, educational services will account for 49 percent of funds with about 28 percent going toward benefits and administration and operations.

Among the major goals and objectives for the 2008 budget, as outlined by the Board of Trustees, include providing funds to support satellite campuses such as the Western Monmouth Higher Education Center, Freehold, and to provide resources to support the Information Technology Strategic Plan, and the infrastructure of the college.

The college also announced that it will continue its policy of not charging tuition to qualified senior citizens registering during Senior Citizen Day, qualified National Guard members and their eligible dependents, people receiving New Jersey unemployment benefits, and qualified Volunteer Fire Fighters and First Aid or Rescue Squad members.

- Dan Newman