CRANBERRY TWP - Tuition at Butler County Community College will increase 8 percent this year because the county is deferring its payments to the college.

Tuition beginning July 1 will be $79 per credit for county residents. Currently it is $73. Students also are charged $20 in fees per credit and those fees will not change.

The college was facing a $1 million shortfall because the county has deferred its support to the college to a later time.

The county is supposed to provide a third of the college's revenue under the law. This year it is budgeted to pay $4.6 million of the college's $26.5 million budget. Student tuition and state money make up the remainder of the budget.

State residents from other counties will pay $158 per credit hour and out-of-state residents will pay $237 per credit hour in tuition.