Tuition rates on the rise at Macomb Community College

Tuition rates will be increasing for Macomb Community College students for the 2023-24 academic year.

Though the tuition rates are on the rise, they will still be over 10% less than most Michigan community colleges, and 77% lower than Michigan’s public universities. 

Tuition will increase by 4.7%, as authorized at a Macomb Community College Board of Trustees Meeting in early February. Michigan residents will see their tuition increase from $106 to $111 per billable contact hour in the Fall 2023 and Spring/Summer 2024 semesters. 

According to the board of trustees several factors contributed to the decision to increase tuition such as the highest inflation rates in 40 years. Macomb Community College is also facing lower enrollment thanks to continued uncertainty from the pandemic and changing demographics in the region. There is also an increase in wage rates in what has proven to be a robust labor market, and a general shift in attitudes surrounding higher education.

Macomb Community College is also looking to change the size and scope of the school to make sure that it is distributing its resources in order to satisfy the shifting needs of the community. Although these evaluations have resulted in an increase in tuition rates, it is also expected to see a reduction of expenses for the school, largely through the elimination of certain positions and a reallocation of faculty and staff to focus on more mission critical positions. The school will also look to invest to improve student success and create programs that streamline career pathways and offer more long term labor market resiliency. 

James Sawyer, who serves as the president of Macomb Community College, was quoted by the Macomb Daily on the decision to raise tuition rates, saying, “When assessing tuition decisions, our highest priority is the needs of our students, ensuring access and affordability, and offering transformative programs supported by the resources and services that drive student success. At the same time, it is a careful balancing act between addressing student needs and maintaining the fiscal soundness and sustainability of the college.”

Macomb Community College receives 35% of its revenue from tuition, 33% from local property taxes, and 27% from state appropriations. 

Among Michigan’s 28 community colleges, Macomb Community College’s millage rate is the third lowest, and the school also receives the eighth lowest appropriation per student from the state of Michigan. Between 2003 and 2021, Macomb cut its budget by $41.5 million. Macomb Community College has thus had one of the lowest operated expenses of all of the state’s community colleges in the past ten years.

The breakdown for Macomb Community College’s tuition categories, the rates for Fall 2023 through Spring/Summer 2024 semesters, and the current billable contact hour rates are $106 to $111 for resident students, $252 to $265 for out of state and foreign students, $136 to $142 for affiliate students (who are students living in areas that are not served by any community college, and $106 to $111 for variable students (which are agreements with third parties who pay tuition on behalf of a student). Early college and dual enrollment students will not have their tuition increased this year, and will continue to pay $106. 

More information about Macomb Community College and the services it offers can be found at the school’s website.