LBCC Tuition: Why are we paying more?

We have all heard our parents and grandparents talk about how little they paid for  tuition in the nineties and earlier. We have all been a part of that, "back in my day" discussion that makes us wonder about why we pay so much for tuition at LBCC now.

Twenty years ago LBCC shifted from state funded to locally funded. Until measure five in the nineties, most of the college was funded by property tax. After measure five, it was state reimbursement. So we had to constantly be asking local tax payers to pay more on their taxes in order to keep LBCC afloat. There was a time in history when LBCC was a few weeks from fall term and tax payers had not yet approved a levy to open the college. Really making it so LBCC could have been gone all together. Measure five put a cap on property taxes and in that process. People still pay property taxes that go towards LBCC but that amount is much smaller since measure five. Property taxes cover roughly 15 percent of LBCC costs. We cant change that at all. The only thing that we can do is ask for less. Tuition was just 28 dollars a credit before 1993. That seems shocking as we pay more than one hundred dollars per credit this year in 2018.                      

We have to take inflation into account for the tuition increase over the years, but what has changed at LBCC is the mindset of our administration. Often times we forget what we are paying for with our tuition dollars. However it is safe to say that with prospering sports teams, clubs, and qualified and competitive instructors. LBCC has switched from having a frugal mindset to having a growth mindset. What does that mean? The LBCC administrations current mission is to do more and hire the best while still maintaining the tuition prices. 

The Vice President of Student Affairs of LBCC, Bruce Clemetsen says that when he first started working for LBCC over 18 years ago, 
"We kind of got satisfied with being less than what we knew we could be."

Bruce said that free tuition would be great for students, but the local government and taxpayers would solely be held accountable for the remaining costs. Inevitably we know that tuition is bound to increase because of inflation, but that becomes a problem when students have no idea about how much the expected increase will be.

Jess Jacobs who is the Director of Accounting and Budget at LBCC has been working hard to formulate the projection of tuition change for the upcoming school years. Jess and LBCC faculty have created a chart that shows the expected tuition increase for the next ten years. Basically there mission is to make it so tuition change is not drastic and not anticipated. You can view the tuition rates and fees on LBCC website a long with the projected tuition change chart.

"Most things require balance, and our approach to our budget is fairly balanced. We are investing in the college, but we are not going overboard," Jess said. 

The truth is that tuition will continue to increase slightly every year for LBCC students, but we are also paying for the educated instructors, achievement programs, and more that we are being offered through the college.At least students who attend LBCC have some peace of mind knowing that their money is going towards the growth of the college. And I think we can all agree that "back in my day," that is a great thing. 


At a glance: 

What:Tuition at LBCC and why it is increasing 

Where: Linn-benton Community College 

Who: Jess Jacobs, Bruce Clemetsen