‘It’s a necessary cost’: Horry Georgetown Technical College tuition to increase
Tuition is once again on the rise for Horry Georgetown Technical College students.
The Horry Georgetown Technical College (HGTC) area commission unanimously voted Tuesday to approve a 3 percent tuition hike for in-state, in-county students. The increase results in fall tuition cost per credit hour increasing $5 from $166 to $177.
“This is not an action that we take lightly,” HGTC president Dr. Marilyn Murphy Fore. “We don’t wish to burden our students with additional costs but for us to operate at a quality level it’s a necessary cost.”
Aside from sustaining operational needs, Fore said the increase is required to offset the cost of many state mandates that are beyond the school’s control and remain at the State Board for Technical and Comprehensive Education approved minimum tuition level.
Over the years, the college has made an effort to stay within the minimum range of the Higher Education Price Index, an inflation index designed specifically to track the main cost drivers in education, Fore said
With students experiencing a rise in tuition over the last two years, including a 3 percent increase last year, enrollment hasn’t suffered with the school seeing a roughly 0.5 percent increase of full-time students over last spring. But enrollment is tied to elevated operational costs, Fore said.
“Operational costs are increasing pretty significantly this year,” she said.
Fore said the tuition increase would still position HGTC among the most affordable in the S.C. Technical College System. Currently, tuition per semester for full-time students is about $2,126.
This story was originally published April 12, 2019 at 2:42 PM.
