A tuition hike and layoffs will be considered Thursday night by trustees of Black Hawk College. Last month, college president Bettie Truitt announced the elimination of 17 jobs, saying that would help keep tuition at an affordable level.
Tuition is now 147 dollars per credit hour, and staff is proposing a 2 dollar increase, mainly because of falling state support - a decline that began in 2002. The college expects to lose nearly 2 million dollars in state support in the coming year.
Job cuts are also due to falling enrollment. Thursday night's agenda lists five tenured faculty members who might lost their jobs, plus some without tenure.
Truitt has said some or all of these cuts would not be necessary if the governor and general assembly could agree on a state budget.
