Tuition to increase at Florence-Darlington Tech

FLORENCE — The Florence-Darlington County Commission for Technical Education has approved a 3.6-percent tuition increase for the fall semester.

Tuition and fees at Florence-Darlington Tech are at $1,560 per semester. With the tuition increase, it will be $1,616 per semester, a difference of $56.

“We do everything that we can to not raise tuition,” commission member E. Hood Temple said during Wednesday’s meeting at the Southeastern Institute of Manufacturing and Technology. “Raising this tuition is the minimum we can do to sustain the quality of the services that we (provide).

“If this wasn’t absolutely necessary, we wouldn’t do it,” he said.

College officials said the tuition increase is well below the maximum allowed by the S.C. State Board for Technical and Comprehensive Education.

Florence-Darlington Tech’s state appropriations have dropped by $2.4 million during the 2008-09 budget year.

Technical colleges in the state received a 22 percent reduction in state appropriations during the 2008-09 fiscal year.

The tuition increase will restore about 18 percent of the $2.4 million budget cut.

Florence-Darlington Tech hasn’t increased its tuition since the 2007.

During the meeting, the commission also approved the 2009-10 operating budget of $31,094,279 with tuition and fees generating $13,949,074.

Tim O’Dell, vice president of business affairs, said it’s estimated the college will receive $1,160,948 in federal stimulus money for the coming year.

In other business, the board approved a certificate program for health care risk management.

The program will consists of eight hours or two courses.

To qualify for the certificate, the student must have an associate’s degree in health studies.

The certificate program is designed to meet the needs of local hospitals and will focus on risk management dynamics, worker’s compensation, quality management and other related topics.

The board also approved an Identity Theft Red Flag Identification and Prevention policy.

On the Web

Florence-Darlington Technical College, http://www.fdtc.edu

Southeastern Institute of Manufacturing and Technology, http://www.simt.com