BUTLER TWP - Citing a cut in state funding, the Butler County Community College trustees Wednesday evening approved a 6 percent tuition increase.

The increase, which amounts to $4 per credit hour, will affect 4,545 students. That means tuition rates will go from $63 per credit hour to $67. A full-time student will pay $1,872 annually in tuition with the increase, which becomes effective July 1.

BC3 president Cynthia Azari said the college had no choice but to raise tuition because "(it) will offset the cut in the state allocation which we estimate to be over $520,000 next year."

That funding cut is the result of a new formula for determining state aid for community colleges.

The new provision switches the school's state subsidy away from a per-student amount to a share of the overall state subsidy for all of the community colleges in Pennsylvania. The effect it will have on BC3 is to reduce the subsidy from $1,500 per student to roughly $1,300.

In addition to the increase in tuition, students from Armstrong, Mercer and Lawrence counties who attend BC3 will now pay an additional $10 per credit fee for receiving classes and services from BC3. Currently, students in those counties pay the same rate as in-county students.

"We are in the early stages of budget development for 2004-05," said Lynn Burtner, dean of finance. "Preliminary indications from the state are that we can expect another year of short funding because the amount available for distribution to community colleges will be less than the amount being owed on behalf of the students we serve."

Burtner said to continue growth and to provide services to students, the tuition increases are unavoidable.

BC3 already had a reduction in state allocation this year of more than $400,000, which caused it to freeze non-essential spending and not replace vacant faculty positions.

Azari said those cost-cutting measures helped some, but did not entirely solve the problem. She also said BC3 is not alone in its financial struggle.

"The tuition increase for next year is in line with what community colleges are doing across the state," Azari said.