Portland Community College Raises Tuition

But board members approved a tuition hike anyway, raising the per-credit cost from $92 to $96 starting this summer. (A student who takes 15 credit-hours per quarter will see his tuition rise from $1,380 to $1,440.)

Several of Oregon's 17 community colleges haven't set tuition for the upcoming school year, so it's not possible to put the increase in statewide context. PCC's tuition this year was close to the state average of $90.78 per credit hour. But PCC has lower student fees than other community colleges, meaning its overall annual cost of $4,476 is lower than the state average of $4,640. 

Chemeketa Community College in Salem last year offered the lowest tuition—$80 per credit hour.

"It's not exorbitant, and it's not anything that's unreasonable given where we are," says Courtney Wilton, a member of PCC's board.

But students had a clear message for the board, Wilton said: "'You need to include us in the process.' They were right."

Correction: This post has been updated. The board voted to increase tuition for the upcoming school year, but held off on increasing tuition in 2016-17. The story initially said tuition will rise again in 2016, to $99 per credit. That decision hasn't been made.