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Spokane, Washington  Est. May 19, 1883

NIC lowers some out-of-state tuition

Meghann M. Cuniff Staff writer

Students from Washington and Montana who attend North Idaho College will pay roughly a quarter less in tuition next year, an attempt by the college to bolster its waning enrollment numbers.

Washington students currently pay $4,040 per year and Montana students $4,488. Beginning in the fall of 2007, those students will be paying just $3,165, the average tuition price at six community colleges throughout the two states. Community Colleges of Spokane lowered its out-of-state tuition for this school year in an attempt to attract students from Idaho. Lower NIC tuition, approved unanimously at a college board of trustees meeting Wednesday, is NIC’s way of countering that approach and of reaching into a market that hasn’t been fully tapped: Montana.

“I think we can draw students from those schools if our tuition is in a range that’s viable for them,” said new vice president for student services, Eric Murray, who previously served as dean of students at the University of Montana-Western.

The new tuition is still more than NIC’s tuition for Idaho students not living in Kootenai County and won’t cost NIC anything if at least 53 students enroll, Murray said.

Full-time enrollment at the college for fall term as of Aug. 21 was down slightly less than a percentage point from last year, but it could decrease further if students drop out or don’t pay tuition and are removed from class lists.

There was some good news in the preliminary enrollment numbers, Murray said: Enrollment in the college’s residence hall is up almost 12 percent. Ten students are on the waiting list to get in, and Murray said he expects enrollment to stay there if not increase.

Enrollment is a major issue at the college because it’s directly tied to funding. Murray said it was discussed in a meeting of President Michael Burke and his cabinet that recruitment is the job of everyone on campus.

The college will be concentrating on increasing the number of high school students enrolled at the college and attracting more non-traditional students, such as senior citizens. A new recruiter, a position created this summer, and other officials will be looking to recruit from western Montana, which Murray said is an untapped market for NIC.

“Next year, I hope to report some better numbers,” Murray said.

Trustee Mic Armon emphasized the need to promote not just the college’s academic transfer programs to high school students but the professional-technical programs as well.

The meeting was the first for Murray and the new vice president for instruction, Barbara Hanson. Hanson briefed the board on a formula she’s working on that would measure the credit production of specific programs to help the college see what programs are working and which might need revamping.

The board also voted to direct Burke to draft a policy for alcohol use on campus. Currently, alcohol is prohibited on the campus under all circumstances. Trustees expressed interest last spring in changing that to allow functions, such as the symphony, private events and fundraisers to serve alcohol, but no action was taken.

Burke opposes the idea, and board Chairman Rolly Williams suggested voting Wednesday on whether the policy is even one that trustees want to pursue. But Armon said the topic hasn’t been fully discussed and made the motion to have Burke draft the policy and continue discussion.

“I’m not sure we’ve really heard the positions, so to speak,” Armon said.

Williams was the only one who voted against the motion.