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Wyoming Community College Commission Weighs Tuition Changes

Courtesy Wyoming Community College Commission

The Wyoming Community College Commission is considering changes to tuition policy for the state’s seven community colleges.

The discussion comes as lawmakers propose cuts to state funding for community colleges. The Commission decided last week to undergo a two-stage examination of tuition. Executive director Jim Rose says the first stage will be reacting to lawmakers’ likely budget cuts. 

“Depending on the outcome of this session, we would make an adjustment—or not—for the coming academic year,” says Rose. “Then, in that period between now and fall when the Commission will meet again, we will look at a multitude of other options to potentially completely recodify our policy on how tuition decisions are made.”

Rose says Wyoming’s current community college tuition policy sets student costs based on what similar colleges in the region charge, but that might not be the best way forward. He says keeping community college affordable for Wyoming students is among the Commission’s top priorities.

The colleges currently get 60 percent of their funding through state aid. The rest comes from local property taxes and tuition.

In recent years, that’s been about $190 million from the state every two-year period, but lawmakers’ current budget proposal calls for a $2.3 million cut.

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