Brookdale to charge $78 per credit in ’02

Brookdale to charge
$78 per credit in ’02

MIDDLETOWN — Tuition for Brookdale Community College is slated to go up 4 percent next year.

According to the state Commission on Higher Education, Brookdale already had the highest tuition of the 19 community colleges statewide before this new increase.

At $78 per credit, the cost of two semesters of education in 2002 would be $2,340, an increase of $90 from 2001. Tuition has remained steady at $75 per credit, a total of $2,250 per year, since 1999.

"The tuition increase responds to the need to continue to build new initiatives while sustaining and improving support for quality programs at Brookdale," Brookdale President Peter Barnham said in a statement.

The announcement that more money would be coming out of their pockets did not seem to faze Brookdale students.

"I don’t think $3 really makes much of a difference," Kelly Holden, 21, of Monmouth Beach, said. "I guess it really depends on what they are going to use the money for. I guess that $100 a year might make a difference for some people, (but) I don’t think most people will even notice."

While school officials described the 4 percent increase as slight, they also said they are working to prevent increases on a yearly basis.

The college’s board of trustees proposed the increase when it announced the approval of the 2002 budget at a public meeting Jan. 11. The total budget is $58.8 million, which represents a 1.3 percent increase over the present budget.

According to school officials, three sources of funding comprise Brookdale’s operating budget: tuition revenues, and county and state funds.

Student tuition accounts for 45 percent of the total operating budget, according to Tara Kelly, a school spokeswoman. State funds are expected to increase 5 percent to $589,747 in 2002.

No additional funds were requested from Monmouth County, whose contribution comprises 34.3 percent of the current budget.

Following the board’s approval, the budget was forwarded to the Board of School Estimates, which certifies Monmouth County’s share of the college operating and capital fund budget, where it is awaiting approval.