Mat-Su students weigh in on UA tuition hike

PALMER — A decision by the University of Alaska Board of Regents will also hit Mat-Su College students in their wallets.

Starting with the 2011-12 school year, the cost for 100 and 200 level courses will increase 5 percent, with a 10 percent hike for higher level classes. For Mat-Su students, that means an increase of about $7 per credit hour, from $147 to $154, said director Talis Colberg. The Valley campus is an extension of UAA, which means tuition and fees are decided by UAA.

“We are basically a two-year college with some four-year programs,” Colberg said. “We don’t offer that many upper-division courses here, most of them are the 100-200 level courses.”

Most full-time students take about 15 credits a semester, he said, which means a student paying about $2,205 for 15 credits now would pay $2,310 after the increase. Regents have delayed action on a proposal to raise tuition 7 percent for the 2012-13 term. That increase will be discussed at a Nov. 9 board meeting.

On the Mat-Su campus, reaction has been mixed about the tuition increase. Although 5 percent isn’t enough to discourage most students from enrolling, many are unhappy that the Valley school doesn’t get the same amenities for paying the same increase as students at UAA’s Anchorage campus.

“If we want higher-level courses, we have to commute to Anchorage, which is an extra cost already,” said Jennifer Olah, a student studying business at Mat-Su College. “I think that’s the general consensus on the Mat-Su campus.”

That the Valley location doesn’t have the same facilities and extra amenities, like the full library and commons area, is definitely one of the issues students here are raising, she said. “It just seems that for us out here, we don’t even have dormitories. We feel like we’re already paying a decent rate, but if you want to raise us up, give us some of the cool stuff.”

Although the planned tuition increase adds to UAA costs that have gone up about 30 percent since 2005, Alaska is still among the least expensive public universities in the United States, Colberg said.

“Generally speaking, we are lower,” he said. “I know in some states they’re having tremendous struggles, where tuitions have soared. Here, it’s generally a pretty darn good deal.”

Which is what Shawna Lincoln believes. She’s working on a bachelor’s degree at Mat-Su College.

“My reaction to the hike is I’m not too worried about it, because it’s not much of an increase,” she said.

A Valley resident, the 30-year-old said she appreciates having affordable higher education close to home.

“I want to get a better job, make more money,” she said. “If you have an education, you can get a better job. It’s local and part of the university system.”

Although it would be nice to have amenities like the Anchorage campus, “$10 here, $15 there just doesn’t seem like that much for what you’re getting in the end,” she said.

Of Mat-Su College’s 1,742 students, 26 percent are full time, Colberg said. And the campus seems to be moving to a more traditional track. More than 90 percent of the college’s recent high school graduates are from the Valley.

“It’s a younger student body than ever before as compared to 20 years ago, when we had a lot of middle-aged students,” he said.

Olah agrees Mat-Su College is “quite a bargain; however, we also are very limited on our programs,” she said.

Olah said if satellite branches of the UAA system like Mat-Su College are paying the same per credit hour and experiencing the same tuition increases, those campuses need to reflect that.

“We want to see how that’s going to benefit us as students,” she said. “For example, we need an auditorium here. That’s a big goal for us.”

Contact Greg Johnson at greg.johnson@frontiersman.com or 352-2269.