Students who attend Joliet Junior College (JJC) in Illinois will receive a partial tuition reimbursement, according to college officials.
The college’s board of trustees and leadership had raised tuition by $19 per credit hour to make up for an anticipated reduction in state funding. However, JJC President Judy Mitchell wrote in an email to students that state funding is better than expected this year. She wrote that the school is “able to partially reimburse you for the financial burden you helped us shoulder during this difficult time.”
The college will disburse around $2.9 million in total to students registered for both fall 2017 and spring 2018 classes, an amount which equates to the extra state funding the college expects to receive above its fiscal year 2018 budget.
About 14,910 students who enrolled in classes in the fall and the coming spring semesters will receive a prepaid debit card reflecting a refund of $12 per credit hour, School spokeswoman Kelly Rohder told the Associated Press. Refunds will vary depending on the number of credit hours a student signed up for.
“We have all been impacted on some level by the financial instability at the state level,” Board Chair Bob Wunderlich said in a press release. “Many of our students struggle with financial barriers and we have worked diligently to remove these barriers through the development of additional scholarships and other support services. This action hopefully shows our students how important their continued success is to us and how we value their trust and investment in JJC as their first choice in higher education.”
