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Eastern Gateway Announces Half-Off Tuition Program
YOUNGSTOWN, Ohio – New students looking to attend Eastern Gateway Community College's Valley Center this spring are likely to get a big break on tuition.
The community college announced a new program Monday that would cut tuition in half for new students who enroll for at least six hours of credit courses at the downtown campus.
"This program is a one-time opportunity, and it's designed to lower the cost of tuition for adults," said Laura Meeks, president of Eastern Gateway. "The purpose of the program is to get people who may not have gone to college, or attended before, and give them an extra boost."
Under the Half-Off Program, the rate for new students would be $56 per semester hour instead of $111, Meeks said. Many adults who are working and don’t qualify for federally backed Pell Grants find it hard to afford college with the other expenses they face, she explained.
"We're trying it because we're a new college in a new area and we're in a new building," Meeks said. The size of the average class at Eastern Gateway is 14 students, leaving room for more in each class she said. Enrollment this semester stands at 576.
"It's going to help the adults, and it will also help this college grow," Meeks said, noting that preparing students for the job market is a primary service for a community college such as Eastern Gateway.
Under the program, each student who applies must be a high school graduate or have earned a GED and it must be his first time taking courses at Eastern Gateway, Meeks said. The student must also take at least six hours of credit at the Valley Center, but can take additional credit hours online or at another campus.
Students must fill out a Free Application for Federal Student Aid, or FAFSA. If federal aid covers all tuition, then the Half-Off Grant does not apply, Meeks pointed out.
The program is available only for the spring 2013 semester, Meeks emphasizes. "For any adult coming to this center for spring semester, no one should pay more than half tuition," she said.
The Valley Center opened on the ground floor of the Plaza Parking deck in downtown Youngstown in August. Classrooms in the "A" section of the new site are finished while renovations continue in the "B" section, Meeks said.
"Plans are going very well," she reported. The Valley Center's administrative offices remain located on the fourth floor of the Choffin Career Center, but Meeks said those would be relocated to the new building in the fall.
The Valley Center recently added a new high-tech nursing lab, and work on a new math emporium is progressing. "It's a center where teachers are always available to help you through an individualized competency program," Meeks said.
Copyright 2012 The Business Journal, Youngstown, Ohio.