Erie Community College, State University of New York

The Erie Community College Board of Trustees approved an operating budget of $96.8 million for fiscal year 2009-2010 at its meeting Wednesday, May 6 at ECC’s City Campus, 121 Ellicott Street, Buffalo.

The budget includes a $113 tuition increase for full-time students and a $5 per credit hour increase for part-time students. Full-time tuition rates will be $3,300 per academic year and part-time tuition costs will be $138 per credit hour.

“The administration made the difficult but necessary decision to increase tuition for the 2009-10 school year,” ECC President Jack Quinn said. “While never easy, this increase will allow ECC to continue to provide a quality, affordable education to the residents of Western New York.”

The adopted budget provides the necessary resources for the college to increase access for potential students, serve the needs of current students and help maintain ECC’s programs and state-of-the-art technology infrastructure.

ECC will also continue to grow student enrollment through new programs and initiatives, including Bio-Manufacturing and Digital Forensics.

In recommending the 2009-2010 budget, Quinn said that it is important to note that despite tough economic times locally, enrollment at ECC has soared to record levels, increasing more than 40 percent in the past 10 years, with the largest growth in enrollment occurring at the city campus.

But even with soaring enrollment, full-time staffing has decreased by nearly 11 percent since 1993.

In addition, the college spends nearly $1,547 less per full-time student than the community college average. This translates into a savings of more than $19 million for the taxpayers of Western New York. These efficiencies have allowed ECC to provide educational opportunities to thousands of individuals at a reasonable cost compared to other colleges and universities in New York State.

The college budget must now be approved by the Erie County Executive, Erie County Legislature, Erie County Fiscal Stability Authority and SUNY.

Erie Community College meets the needs of a diverse student body and contributes to regional economic vitality by providing excellent, flexible, affordable and accessible educational programs in a multi-campus environment committed to continuous improvement.