College tuition will rise

Friday, July 3, 2009

Tuition for students at CSM's La Plata, Leonardtown and Prince Frederick campuses will increase $2 per credit hour beginning with the fall 2009 semester, according to a CSM press release. Students who live in Charles, St. Mary's and Calvert counties will pay $100 per credit and the comprehensive fee will remain 23 percent of the tuition. For a full-time student enrolled in classes for 12 credits the tuition increase will be $26, according to the release.

Bradley M. Gottfried, the college's president, said in an interview Thursday that the college was focused on making the increase as easy as possible on students.

"What we are trying to do is keep [the increase] as low as we possibly can," Gottfried said, "and to try to identify alternative ways that students can continue their educations."

Tuition for other Maryland residents who live outside of the tri-county area will increase to $174 per credit and out-of-state residents will pay $225 per credit, according to the release.

The college's fiscal 2010 budget has increased 2.7 percent over fiscal 2009, according to the release. The $55 million budget is mainly supported by funding from the state, Charles, St. Mary's and Calvert counties, tuition and fees.

An increase in state and county funding has lessened the tuition hike, Gottfried said in the release, adding that originally CSM officials were considering a $5 per credit hour raise in tuition.

Charles County allocated $9.1 million for CSM's fiscal 2010 budget, David Eicholtz, the county's budget chief, said Thursday.

St. Mary's County set aside $2.5 million for the college, and Calvert County allocated $2.8 million, according to budget documents on the counties' Web sites.

Bill Comey, CSM's vice president of student and instructional support, noted in the release that while the college has taken many steps to contain costs an increase in utilities and other fixed services and decreases in miscellaneous and investment income have forced the college to raise the tuition.

State funding, which was reduced by nearly $450,000 last fiscal year, only makes up 21 percent of the college's budget, Comey said in the release. The college is set to receive about $12 million in fiscal 2010 from the state, according to budget documents on a state Web site.

Additional state funding for the college that was approved at the last minute by the Maryland General Assembly kept the tuition increase from being higher, Comey said.

The college is offering assistance to students who need help in paying tuition and fees. The financial aid office and the CSM Foundation are looking for additional scholarship and financial aid opportunities for students who are struggling because of the recession, according to the release.

"Scholarships will be very important," Gottfried said. "… There are many in the region, many donors who are obviously committed to the region, and committed to support the college and its students."

Gottfried noted that the college had just raised "a big chunk of change" from a recently completed capital campaign that set out to raise $5 million and raised more than $7 million.

"A significant amount of that [sum] will go to scholarships," Gottfried said.

Tuition and fees can be paid over a four-month period through the college's tuition payment plan that is available to students who are enrolled in six or more credits. The only cost is a $35 per semester nonrefundable enrollment fee.

Gottfried said that a full-time student in the course of an academic year would pay $48 more in tuition.

"You might not think that would be a deal breaker," he said, but for some students it could be. "We are committed to help as many students as we can ..."

Staff writer Joel Davis contributed to this report.

nmcconaty@somdnews.com Tuition assistance

The College of Southern Maryland offers students assistance in paying tuition and fees with a tuition payment plan and students can research the availability of scholarships with CSM's Scholarship Finder.

For information about the payment plan, call 301-934-7712 or 301-870-2309, 240-725-5499 or 443-550-6199, ext. 7712 or go to www.csmd.edu.

The Scholarship Finder can be accessed at www.csmd.edu/financial/scholarships.