Essex County College Announces Tuition Hike

One of the largest county colleges in the state will be raising tuition for its students for the 2015-16 school year.

Last week, administrators at Essex County College announced that the school would be hiking student tuition fees from $108.50 per credit to $116.50.

The tuition hike would be the first in five years, according to school officials.

According to the college’s website, the publically funded school currently serves over 26,000 students and has campuses in Newark, West Caldwell and Cedar Grove.

In addition, the college sends more transfer students to Rutgers, New Jersey Institute of Technology and Montclair State University than any other in the state, the website claims.

In a statement, school administrators stated that the impact to students will be tempered because “60 percent of all students attend tuition-free,” and that students ultimately incur no debt because “all of this aid is in grants, not loans.”

Chairman of the Board of Trustees Calvin Souder stated that the tuition increase will provide the school with the additional revenue needed to “offer quality student services, accommodate operational expenses and meet its contractual obligations.”

“Raising tuition is never popular because it makes it harder for some students to access the benefits of good education,” stated President Gale Gibson. “But, our operational mission cannot be ignored, and raising tuition is sometimes the only responsible course of action.”

STUDENT PROTEST

Students have not taken kindly to news about the tuition hike, which first surfaced in early March after a group of activists stormed a Board of Trustees meeting to express their frustrations.

In a group statement, students charged that conditions at the school are getting worse at the same time costs are increasing, and are seeking an immediate tuition freeze. [See related Patch article]

“Strictly speaking, there are no transfer advisers,” students stated in a release. “Library hours have been cut. Computer labs are overcrowded and printers are not working properly. The cafeteria is expensive. The technology is outdated. Not to mention parking is terrible, especially when your car gets towed.”

Critics of the tuition hike have also included Jennifer Wager, a humanities professor at the school who was allegedly detained and questioned by school administrators following the March protest. [See below video]