Share: mail

The Pasadena Area Community College District will not implement a two-tier tuition system which would force students wanting high demand classes to pay more per unit, according to a statement released Sept. 13.

Concerns arose in the community over the California Bill AB 955, which states that community colleges with two intersessions could raise tuition for certain courses up to the nonresident fee.

According to the Pasadena.edu website, the nonresident fee per unit is $193.

But administration officials insist students have nothing to worry about since the college no longer meets the two-intersession requirements to pilot a two-tier system.

At the time the bill was written, the college was eligible for a two-tier program, and it is still currently listed on the bill as one of the eligible colleges. The bill is expected to be signed by Gov. Jerry Brown on Tuesday.

The AB955 legislation explains that if an eligible college chooses to run a two-tier system, it may charge students taking “extension” courses a nonresident fee.

“The governing board of an eligible community college district may charge students enrolled in an extension course a fee that covers the actual cost of the course and that is based upon the district’s nonresident fee rate for the year the course is offered,” the bill states.

President Mark Rocha released a statement on Monday reassuring the community that the district will not implement a two-tier tuition system.

“To be clear, the consistent and long time position of the administration and the Board for over a year has been in opposition to AB955, the so-called two tier tuition bill that would allow community colleges to charge a higher fee for intersession classes,” Rocha’s statement reads. “Two tier tuition will not happen at PCC under any circumstances.”

Student Trustee Simon Fraser explained he was upset that the college is still on the list of eligible colleges for a two-tier system on the bill.

“I was disappointed to see PCC’s name on the list. We could still be on the pilot list if the governor signs the bill. The point is we won’t,” Fraser said.

Follow: rssyoutubeinstagrammail

4 Replies to “District opposes two-tier tuition bill”

  1. I wonder if this will create an opportunity for some other community college to participate in this pilot and offer opportunities to students who will otherwise be forced to go to private colleges and pay a lot more in tuition, due to California’s two-tiered education system.

  2. Sam & aggravated,
    Pasadena City College ended up on this list because the author (Das Williams) didn’t do his homework. PCC is one of at least three colleges listed in the bill text that are either ineligible or unwilling (or both) to implement the pilot program.

Leave a Reply

This site uses Akismet to reduce spam. Learn how your comment data is processed.