Westmoreland County Community College freezes tuition

Westmoreland County Community College trustees froze tuition for the coming year.

That means tuition for Westmoreland County residents will remain at $1,995 plus fees per semester for 12–18 credits.

“We know our students have had a challenging year and we want to show our support of their pursuit of their degree,” said Tuesday Stanley, the college’s president.

Leia Shilobod, the college’s board of trustees chair, echoed Stanley’s sentiments.

“The college is an important part of strengthening our economy, the community and in recovering from the pandemic,” she said. “My fellow trustees and I believe now is not the time to place an additional burden with increased tuition. Now is the time to support our students to success with services, including free tutoring.”

The board’s decision at a Zoom meeting Thursday night follows a similar move earlier this month by officials at the Pennsylvania State System of Higher Education who opted to freeze tuition for an unprecedented third consecutive year.

In both instances, officials cited a desire to offer students and families affected by the pandemic a break next year.

President Biden has proposed offering students at community colleges, the no-frills public institutions that serve as a gateway to higher education for many of the nation’s students, two years of free tuition. He highlighted the proposal again this week in his first speech to a joint session of Congress, saying access to post-high school education and training is critical for the nation’s economic competitiveness on a world stage.

Community colleges across the nation took an unexpected enrollment hit last fall, when student numbers that usually surge in economic downturns, declined by 10%.

Enrollment remained lower than last year, down 11.5% from spring 2020 at Westmoreland, 13.5% at the Community College of Allegheny County and 13.12% at the Butler County Community College.