Northeast Mississippi Community College

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NEMCC bucks state-wide trend, maintains affordable tuition for second consecutive year

by Michael H Miller

BOONEVILLE, Miss. -- (07/11/2023) — Northeast Mississippi Community College has announced that it will not be raising tuition for the upcoming 2023-2024 academic year, making it the second consecutive year that the college will keep tuition rates steady.

"We are fortunate to be able to keep tuition at the same level for the second consecutive year," NEMCC president Dr. Ricky G. Ford said. "After a small appropriation increase from the State of Mississippi, we made the decision to keep tuition level for another year. Obviously, we will need to look at the amount appropriated from the legislature as to whether we will need to increase tuition for 2024-2025."

While other institutions of higher learning in Mississippi have received approval from the Mississippi Institutions of Higher Learning (IHL) or their respective community college boards of trustees, Northeast remains committed to providing affordable higher education opportunities for its students.

Northeast's tuition for in-state students will remain unchanged at $1,825 per semester, while out-of-state students will see their cost to attend one of the United States' top community colleges capped at $3,465.

International students attending Northeast will continue to pay $3,700 per semester.

These rates apply to full-time students enrolled in day, evening, and virtual classes taking between 12 and 21 credit hours.

Additional tuition fees will be charged for students taking over 21 credit hours in a semester. Part-time tuition is calculated at $182.50 per credit hour for Mississippi residents, $346.50 for out-of-state residents, and $370 for international students.

However, for those who have been in the workforce and are looking to go back to school, Northeast offers a senior citizen tuition waiver, which forgives tuition for students aged 62 and above. However, other applicable fees still apply to senior citizen students.

"Keeping tuition affordable for the citizens of north Mississippi and beyond will remain one of our top priorities," Ford explained. "The students and citizens of northeast Mississippi deserve to be able to experience affordable tuition and stay close to home. This will remain at the forefront of our mission at Northeast Mississippi Community College."

Northeast's decision to keep its tuition rate comes in stark contrast to the recent action by the Mississippi Institutions of Higher Learning, as the committee approved tuition increases at five of the eight colleges and universities that it serves.

During its April meeting, the Mississippi IHL approved increases, raising the average in-state tuition from $8,396 to $8,564 per semester-a difference of $169.

Mississippi State University will experience the highest increase among IHL schools, with the Starkville-based school raising tuition from $9,248 to $9,665 per semester, an increase of $417.

Jackson State University, the University of Southern Mississippi, Mississippi University for Women, and the University of Mississippi (Ole Miss) will all see increases in tuition during the 2023-2024 academic year.

Southern Mississippi received approval to raise its tuition by $278 per semester, while Jackson State and MUW will see their in-state tuition rise by $250 and $226, respectively. Ole Miss adds $180 more to its in-state tuition bill with the new tuition hike.

In-state residents who attend the University of Mississippi Medical Center (UMMC) in Jackson will experience over $350 in tuition increases. In-state students will hand over $360 per semester, while out-of-state students will see their tuition rise slightly less at $342 more per semester.

Even colleges and universities outside the Magnolia State are not immune from raising tuition, as the University of Memphis Board of Trustees approved an increase to the 2023-2024 undergraduate tuition and fees at its meeting on June 14.

Members of the Memphis Board of Trustees decided that there would be a 2.86 percent increase in tuition and mandatory fees for in-state undergraduate students during the 2023-2024 academic year.

Memphis' increase will add $114 to in-state undergraduate expenses, with tuition rising by $84 from $4,176 to $4,260 and mandatory fees going from $852 to $912.

Even the University of North Alabama in Florence, Alabama, could not withstand the issue of raising tuition in June 2022. The University of North Alabama Board of Trustees voted to increase undergraduate tuition by $20 per credit hour for the 2022-2023 academic year to help mitigate inflation and multiple years of budget deficits at the four-year institution of higher learning.

With the tuition increase, the total cost of attending the University of North Alabama went up to $18,080 annually, an increase of five percent from the $17,220 total cost of attendance in 2021-2022.

Northeast even took the step in 2021-2022, to help students know exactly how much an education would cost. The Booneville-based college placed all its required fees, such as course materials, textbooks, digital textbooks, and class supplies, into one fee so that students could know up-front exactly what the cost of attendance would be at one of the nation's top community colleges.

In addition to keeping tuition steady, Northeast is constantly looking for ways to alleviate the barrier to entry that tuition causes for students. Northeast introduced its 1:1 iPad initiative in 2018 and put iPads in the hands of every faculty member and student. This move allowed instructors to use Open Educational Resources (OER) rather than traditional textbooks - reducing the cost of instructional materials at the college, with the average textbook at Northeast costing $214 in 2014 and only $22 in 2021-2022.

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Media Attachments

A banner on the Northeast Mississippi Community College campus in Booneville welcomes visitors to the campus. For the second year in a row, the college has bucked state-wide trends by keeping tuition steady.

Northeast Mississippi Community College's T. Jack Ramsey Student Services Building is reflected onto a tabletop in front of the Haney Union on the college's Booneville campus. For the second year in a row, the college has bucked state-wide trends by keeping tuition steady.

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