ROCK HILL—York Technical College students will see a modest tuition increase for the 2009-2010 academic year. For the fall 2009 semester that begins August 19, in-county tuition will increase by $4 per credit hour to $134 per credit hour. As a result,  full-time students will pay $1,608 per semester. Fees for the fall semester will remain at their current amounts.

The announced tuition increase is below the cap of $1,728 per semester set last month by the State Board for Technical and Comprehensive Education for the state’s 16 technical colleges. It is also below the current Higher Education Price Index (HEPI) amount. HEPI is used to measure the inflation rate for higher education.

College officials said the increase was needed to help offset costs associated with serving the growing number of students enrolling in college programs, coupled with reduced funding from the state.

“We are seeing a record-setting number of students turning to the college for help, while at the same time we are facing a major decrease in the amount of state funding,” said York Technical College President Dr. Greg Rutherford. 

Spring enrollment at York Technical College increased by 10 percent from a year ago and annual enrollment since the 2006-07 academic year has increased by 27 percent. A significant number of the students enrolling at York Tech are laid-off workers who are retraining for today’s jobs.

Even as the number of students enrolled in credit programs continues to increase, the college’s funding from the state over the past year has been reduced by $1.8 million, about 23 percent. Other colleges in the state’s technical college system have seen similar reductions in funding.

York Technical College . 452 S. Anderson Road . Rock Hill, SC 29730