Tuition hike, salary increase approved
By Matt Bishop, Editor
OCCC’s Board of Regents unanimously approved the budget proposal allowing the college to increase resident tuition by $6 per credit hour and out-of-state tuition by $10 per credit hour.
OCCC students will see a 7.7 percent increase across the board for tuition costs.
Resident tuition fees will be $84 per credit hour and non-resident will be at $224 per credit hour.
The tuition increase will take place in the fall.
The increase in tuition is due to the declining rate of state allocations given to OCCC and will ensure hourly employees get 50-cent raises, said President Paul Sechrist.
Student employees will see their hourly wages go from $7 and $7.50 an hour to $8 and $8.50 an hour.
Faculty who met performance requirements will see a 1 to 2 percent increase based on performance, plus a $750 salary increase, said Vice President for Human Resources and Support Services Gary Lombard.
The increases break down into three categories.
Employees who met job requirements can expect a 1 percent raise.
Employees who exceeded job requirements or had a significant accomplishment will receive a 1.5 percent raise.
Those who both exceeded job requirements and had a significant accomplishment, will receive the 2 percent raise.
All three groups will receive the $750 salary increase.
“The $750 has a greater impact on the lower wage salaries,” Lombard said.
This results in an overall employee raise of 3.5 percent, Lombard said.
OCCC Board of Trustees Vice President James White said, since the state wasn’t allocating as much money in the past, this budget plan made sense.
“We trusted the OCCC administration on their proposal,” White said. “[The proposal] looked very good.”
The board also approved a 2 percent raise, plus $750, for OCCC President Paul Sechrist.
Sechrist’s raise will put his annual salary at $227,429 for the 2008-2009 fiscal year, Lombard said.
That is a $5,195 raise from the 2007-2008 fiscal year.
Editor Matt Bishop can be reached at editor@occc.edu.
