Penguins stymied by Svedberg in Game 6 loss

Davison leads WVW over Coughlin

First Posted: 4/30/2014 NANTICOKE &#8212; Students will have a chance to chat with President Thomas Leary about a looming tuition hike and other changes being contemplated at Luzerne County Community College this morning.
&#8220;I&#8217;ve been discussing issues with various student groups on campus and we decided to give more of them a chance with a student open forum,&#8221; Leary said Wednesday. The forum is set for 11 a.m. in the rotunda of the campus center.
&#8220;The talk is not just geared to tuition. We have other ideas for improving campus life,&#8221; he said.
While budgeting for 2014-15 is still in it&#8217;s early stages, and won&#8217;t be finalized until June, Leary said early numbers show a shortfall in excess of $3 million, and while he&#8217;s confident that will be pared down, he concedes &#8220;I expect there will be a tuition increase.&#8221;
He cited several forces causing the deficit.
Four years ago, when federal stimulus money the state had used to plug education funding holes ran out, Harrisburg decided not to replace the money, costing LCCC about $1.2 million in funds coming through the state.
Since then, state funding has remained flat despite increasing costs.
A decline in enrollment, which Leary said he is confident is temporary, further eroded school finances. Since a high approaching 7,200 in 2009 &#8212; a similar peak was hit in the 1990s, Leary said &#8212; enrollment has dropped by more than 1,000.
Combined, these factors prompted tuition increases two years in a row after LCCC had been able to boast it was the only community college in the state to avoid any hikes the two years prior.
Tuition rose from $84 to $96 per credit in 2012-13 and to $110 this year
While a $24 per credit increase has been bandied about for next year, Leary said &#8220;I do not expect that.&#8221;
LCCC has a total budget of about $42 million and currently has a reserve of about $3.5 million, but Leary said he would prefer not to tap that money, holding onto it for emergencies.

Students get chance to discuss tuition hike at LCCC