The Butler County Community College board of trustees on Wednesday approved a $2 per credit increase for Butler County residents and a $5 per credit increase for out-of-county and out-of-state residents. The budget included the elimination of full-time tuition rates.

“The (full-time tuition rate) model was, you had a fall semester and spring semester. Now, we have multiple mini-semesters, and now (the full-time tuition rate) is out of whack when you are using those mini-semesters,” said James Hrabosky, BC3’s vice president for administration and finance.

According to Hrabosky, the full-time tuition incentive was underutilized and did not align with the college’s use of fast tracks, or mini-semesters, as Hrabosky called them, which allow students to take five-week online classes.

For the 2021-22 year, the per-credit cost for in-county residents will increase from $118 to $120 per credit plus $52 per credit for fees. For example, a three-credit class would cost $516 with tuition and fees.

The per-credit cost for all other state residents and out-of-state residents will increase from $218 per credit to $223 per credit plus $52 per credit for fees.

The full-time tuition plan created a cost savings for students once they exceeded 15 credits per semester. For the 2021-22 year, in-county residents taking 17 credits will now pay $2,654 per semester, whereas under the full-time tuition rate they would have paid $2,924 per semester.

While many higher education institutions have dealt with declining enrollment since the pandemic, BC3’s enrollment is up approximately 3% in total. Two branch campuses, Lawrence Crossing in New Castle and LindenPointe in Mercer County, experienced declining enrollments of 20.43% and 35.71%, respectively.

The coronavirus pandemic has had an effect on enrollment, according to Nick Neupauer, college president.

“The schools impacted the most are the community colleges,” Neupauer said. “Community college students are juggling responsibilities at home and with work.”

According to college officials, enrollment in remote classes rose 21.7% from June 10, 2020 to June 9.

BC3 started its summer session in May in the green phase by continuing its COVID-19 mitigation measures that were in place in April. The college is operating at 75% capacity for staffing and in-person instruction on campus. Remote work also continued.

The college anticipates releasing its return-to-campus plan for the fall semester soon.

“We will be putting that message out to the campus community first very soon,” Neupauer said.

He added that the decision comes from consultation with the president’s cabinet, trustees and various stakeholders, including the governor’s office.

The new operating plan includes “bringing everyone back to campus at the beginning of July,” said Jessica Matonak, executive director of communications and marketing at BC3, whereas the instructional plan for the fall semester will “take some time.”

The return-to-campus plan will not include a vaccine mandate, according to Neupauer. “We are not leaning in that direction whatsoever,” he said.