Cost of tuiton goes up again

Jessica Rosenberg

Copy Editor

Over the last year the entire country has felt the heat of a recession. With rising fuel prices and the increase in the costs of everyday necessities, it is no surprise that students would not be exempt from a struggling economy.

BC Board of Trustees members had a tough choice to make, but eventually decided to increase the tuition, again.

Last January, just one semester ago, the tuition was raised by 5 percent. Now students are faced with an additional 6 percent increase; making the total amount $77.84 per credit hour for the fall 2008 semester.

According to Bill Pennell, CFO of Broward College, raising the tuition was in the student’s “best interest.”

“Due to $6.4 million in cutbacks, the Board made the best decision they could under tough circumstances,” said Pennell.

It was also important to Pennell that the positives of the increase are understood as well.

“We’re also pushing for 10 additional full-time faculty members as opposed to adjunct professors and also an increase in student advisors as well,” explained Pennell.

The decision to increase the tuition did not come easy for Board members.

“I thought it was terrible…with the rising costs and the decline in the economy, tuition should be the last worry for students,” said Board member Levi Williams.

Although Williams was conflicted by his decision, he wanted to ensure students that the result would not be in vain.

When asked to rationalize and explain the benefits of the increase to ease the student’s dissatisfaction, Williams did not hesitate.

“I understand the students concern and I would say the biggest benefit is no doubt the continuation of higher education that BC provides and the quality it maintains.”

Students had their chance to sound off on how they felt about the tuition increase. Surprisingly many students didn’t even realize there was an increase.

However, the ones who were aware were not pleased.

“It’s ridiculous! I pay so much anyway for books and gas to get here. I mean, what’s next? Why does this keep happening?” said Tanique Douglas, 23, business major.

Broward College is not the only college to feel the impact of rising tuition costs.

According to Pennell, “All 28 community colleges as well as several universities have been met with the 6 percent increase this semester.”

Although that doesn’t bring tremendous relief to students, BC Board members and faculty promise the highest level of excellence will be maintained.

Broward College drops the "Community"

Bruno Niccoli

Editor-in-Chief

In the fall of 1960, the Junior College of Broward County welcomed its first 701 students and 28 faculty members.

Eight years later under the leadership of Dr. A. Hugh Adams, the students were welcomed to Broward Junior College.

September 1970 marked the time when “Junior” was changed to “Community,” which is used to describe publicly funded two-year institutions.

Now, 49 years after its establishment, over 55,000 students will hear:

Welcome to Broward College

The name change was a result from the Commission on Colleges of the Southern Association of Colleges and Schools changing the college to a Level 2 accredited institution.

The Level 2 accreditation allows the college to offer four year bachelors programs. The accreditation was received on the exact same day as the college changed its name, July 1. Broward College President J. David Armstrong stated, “We became Broward College officially today and we got our Level II approval, which makes us a four-year bachelor’s degree-granting institution. We are on our way.”

The trend of removing the word “community” from a college that offers bachelor degrees has been around for more than a decade. The most notorious case in South Florida happened when Miami-Dade Community College, changed its name to mark the beginning of a new chapter for the college.

When the first discussions came about changing the college’s name, members of the faculty were allowed to send e-mails with suggestions for what the new name could be, but eventually the decision was made to just keep it simple and remove a word.

By removing the word community, the college was able to maintain the same concept behind its new logo, which had just one “C” line removed. In addition, some of the signs only required the removal of “Community” by using blue paint to match with the background. Jillian Printz, Special Assistant to the President, explained, “We wanted to capitalize on the recognition that the BCC logo has through out the county, and actually through out South Florida.”

The welcome sign at the entrance of the South Campus is a perfect example of the money being saved by not drastically changing the college’s name.

When seen from a distance a person only reads Broward College, but upon close inspection the space and the shape where “Community” once stood is still very noticeable.

It may seem sloppy to be welcomed by a signed that was simply painted over, but on times of severe budget cuts, these are the kind of temporary solutions that help the college to save a great deal of money.

The college will also save money by gradually changing its name and logo from the office supplies, business cards and other products that will eventually have the new look.

According to Jillian Printz, the internal cost for the name and logo change is about $7, 500

Old logos and signs that have been around the campuses and are now considered historic will not be replaced.

Printz explained that the change couldn’t have come at a better time, because the idea of changing some of the signs on not only the entrance of the campuses but also in the buildings, has been considered for quite some time.

If the name had been changed a couple years from now, the college would have spent the money twice, because there were plans to replace the old BCC logos to newer logos still containing the word “Community.”

The college slogan has also been changed from “we keep you thinking” to “Define yourself”

The four year programs will become available for the students in the next year. Education has been chosen to be the first bachelor degree offered by Broward College, and the students can register for the new major in winter 09.

Nursing and Information Technology will eventually be available for students.

Regarding the future of the school as a college President J. David Armstrong stated “This in no way changes our mission as a community college; what it does do is meet a critical workforce need in Broward for more teaching faculty in K-12 classrooms, while providing a four-year degree that is a hallmark of the excellence and affordability of our institution. We will continue to embrace and support our two-year degree programs, while we expand our curriculum to meet the needs of our community.”

Back to school issue

The Observer's back to school issue will be available in all Broward College campuses August 18, the first day of classes.