Tennessee community, technical colleges will see tuition hike this fall

MEMPHIS, Tenn. (WMC) - Thousands of Tennessee students will have to pay more for their education this fall.

This comes after The Tennessee Board of Regents approved a tuition increase for all 37 community and technical colleges across the state with just five weeks until classes begin.

Tuition will increase by 3%.

Officials at Southwest Tennessee Community College say the money will help give students the quality education they deserve.

“Tennessee Board of Regents sets our tuition rate, they set the rate for all community colleges, and they determined that in order to provide, to continue to provide quality education, a tuition increase was necessary,” said Southwest CFO Jeannie Smith.

However, if students receive a state or federal scholarship, the increase will not affect them.

“Most of our students are recipients of either a state or federal scholarship,” Smith said. “They cover all the tuition costs, so those students will not be impacted by this tuition increase.”

The decision to raise tuition was not easy.

“With inflationary rates that we’ve been looking at, the board determined that we still would need to increase tuition,” Smith said.

If you’re a student facing financial hardship, there could still be help for you.

“We are encouraging all students to reach out to our financial aid office or student fare’s office if they have questions or issues,” Smith said.

Southwest officials say all students need to make sure they’re taking advantage of financial aid that they qualify for.

Additional scholarships are also available to those who might be struggling financially.

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