Fiscal Research Division
Fiscal Brief
Executive Summary
Education
CCoommmmuunni ii t ttyy CCool ll l lleeggee TTuui ii t tt i iioonn Waai iivveer rr s ss
March 12, 2010
State Spent $ 55 Million on Tuition Waivers in FY 2008- 09
The current economic recession has had a negative
impact on State funds, and it appears that the budget
situation will not improve for the 2010 Session of the
2009 General Assembly. Legislators will have to make
difficult decisions about how to spend limited State
resources, and where to make cuts. In making these
decisions, it may be helpful for legislators to
understand which groups currently may attend
community college tuition- free or with reduced tuition
and at what cost to the State.
In FY 2008- 09, almost $ 55 million in tuition was
waived ($ 54.95 million) in the categories for which
tuition waiver information is tracked. The total
amount of tuition waived has been growing steadily
for the last 10 years, more than doubling between FY
1999- 00 and 2008- 09. Over half of all tuition waived
is for training for emergency personnel workers. The
majority of the tuition waived for curriculum courses
is for high school students, who are not a part of the
statutory purpose of the Community College system.
There are a number of issues the General Assembly
may wish to consider, including:
􀂃 Charging a minimum fee per course for those
with waived tuition instead of eliminating
categories of waivers,
􀂃 Inconsistencies in the way courses are offered
to high school students,
􀂃 The Continuation Review of the prison
education program, and
􀂃 The senior citizen tuition waiver.
Finally, the General Assembly may wish to review the
policy reasons behind the existing tuition waivers and
examine them in light of the State's current policy
priorities.
Introduction
During the current economic recession, the General
Assembly has had to make decisions on how to spend
limited State funds, and it appears that the budget
situation will not improve for the 2010 Session of the
2009 General Assembly. In making these decisions, it
may be helpful for legislators to understand which
groups currently may attend community college tuition-free
or with reduced tuition and at what cost to the State.
This fiscal brief describes the tuition waivers available to
community college students and discusses related
upcoming issues for the 2010 Session of the 2009
General Assembly.
Community College Student Funding
The State of North Carolina subsidizes community
college education for almost all in- state students1 at its
community colleges by sharing the cost of education
with the student. For example, in FY 2009- 10, in- state
tuition for curriculum classes only covered 29% of the
cost of a full- time equivalent student ( or FTE2).
In addition to this subsidy available to all in- state
students, some students also have their tuition waived –
either because of a waiver authorized in the General
Statutes or in Session Law. Waivers can be for
curriculum or continuing education classes, and can be
for specific job training or for general education,
depending on the waiver.
Because of these waivers, the State actually pays more
than its share of the cost of each FTE. For example, in
FY 2009- 10 the total cost per curriculum FTE was
approximately $ 5,500. As stated above, curriculum
1 The exception is for “ self- supporting” classes.
2 FTE ( or Full- Time Equivalent) is an artificial metric used
for budgeting purposes. FTE is a more relevant measure
than student headcount because most community college
students do not enroll on a full- time basis.