For many students, community colleges and branch campuses are becoming alternatives to traditional four-year schools. With more people choosing to save money by attending these institutions, competition for students is rising in traditional residential campuses such as Ohio University.
According to a survey released by the American Association of Community Colleges, tuition for the current academic year rose by 11.5 percent at community colleges largely due to state budget cuts. Those decreases in state funding have affected the accessibility of community colleges. However, community college tuition remains the lowest of higher education despite the cuts in state funding.
Sophomore Valerie Laulusa attended Columbus State Community College for one year before she came to OU. She said she chose to go to a community college because she was home-schooled and graduated from high school early.
I didn't want to move out when I was 16. I was not ready to make the transition by totally moving out
Laulusa said.
She had planned on transferring out of the community college from the start, especially because Columbus State Community College is a two-year school. She decided to transfer to OU because it offers her major, music therapy.
During Fall Quarter, Kip Howard, former assistant vice president for enrollment services who left OU April 30, said in the past few years, students who do not gain admission to the main campus have sought admission in one of OU's branch campuses.
We've seen not just in OU more students opting for regional community colleges mainly because of cost differentials
Howard said. (The tuition rates at) community colleges are considerably lower
as are branch campuses.
There are many factors that cause tuition at OU to be considerably more than branch and community colleges, such as overhead costs, buildings, faculty, support for education and the cost of maintaining a residential campus, Howard said.
He said choosing a branch campus is an economically attractive option.
It is possible for a person to stay at home and get an OU education; they can keep their job
go to school part time
work part time and get their degree
he said.
During Fall Quarter, Melissa Biddinger, the former associate director of admissions who left OU after Fall Quarter, said the Ohio Board of Regents is devoted to making transfers within the Ohio school system as seamless as possible. Its goal is to make the process of transferring easier.
Dan Evans, the dean of the OU Southern campus, said the university is building a permanent satellite center for the Southern branch in Proctorville in order to replace the rented facilities they have outgrown.
It will allow us to continue to grow. In less than three years the Proctorville center has doubled in size
Evans said.
17
