EvCC students take advantage of new payment plan

Published 10:43 pm Monday, January 7, 2008

EVERETT — Orielle Dokson, 25, felt a lot better about paying tuition this year at Everett Community College.

The reason? “I didn’t have to use my credit card.”

Dokson is like a lot of other community college students: She works two jobs, pays rent and goes to school on a tight budget.

The difference for Dokson is a new payment plan at the college that allows her to pay tuition over the school term instead of all at once.

The “20-40 pay plan” allows students to pay half their tuition before a quarter starts and the ­remainder at two later dates: the 20th calendar day and the 40th calendar day of each term.

During the fall quarter, 92.5 percent of the 362 students who signed up for the plan made the payments and completed the term. So far, 272 students have registered for it under for winter quarter. The college had an enrollment of 6,700 in the fall.

“We want education to be accessible and affordable,” said Christine Kerlin, EvCC vice president for enrollment management.

“People are balancing tuition and books and the books they can’t hold off on,” Kerlin said.

Tuition at the state’s community colleges rose from $1,458 per year in 1997-98 to $2,676 per year in 2007-08, almost doubling. Ten years ago, students paid 29 percent of the cost of their education; today they pay 37 percent.

At community colleges, the average cost of books and supplies for first-time, full-time students in 2003-04 was $886.

Over half of Washington’s two-year colleges now offer a tuition payment plan for students. The number has been steadily growing over the past three to four years as colleges look for ways to help students offset the burden of rising tuition and books, said Suzanne Ames, a spokeswoman for the state Board of Community and Technical Colleges.

At EvCC, the new payment system replaces a less-flexible “emergency loan” program that allowed students to pay half their tuition by a payment deadline and the remainder by the fifth day of classes.

Edmonds Community College started its own tuition installment plan last year. Students there can pay one-third of tuition and a $15 fee at the beginning of the quarter and the other two-thirds in later payments.

This fall, 500 students used the tuition payment plan at EdCC. Fewer than 20 defaulted on payments.

“Tuition has been going up and it’s becoming increasingly difficult for students to lay out that lump sum,” said Barb Counsellor, EdCC accounting manager. “Depending upon when they register this gives them a two-month period in which they can pay.”

At Everett, Sarah Houston, 20, a sophomore studying business, didn’t attend classes fall quarter because she needed to save money from her job at Kmart to cover tuition.

With a $300 bill for textbooks, the payment plan came as a huge relief.

“It helps a lot being able to make the payments and split it up and not have to (write) one big check at one time,” she said.

The plan has helped others who face temporary financial challenges.

Heidi Lee, 34, is a married mother of two from Lake Stevens. These days, the Lees are paying two mortgages because they weren’t able to sell their home in Granite Falls before they moved to Lake Stevens.

She worked temporarily as a flagger to pay for her $150 in textbooks. She also works as a nursing assistant and EKG technician at Providence Everett Medical Center, which will eventually reimburse her tuition.

The payment plan came at the right time, she said.

“We had to look at it twice to make sure we were reading it right,” Lee said. “It was a nice surprise.”

Reporter Eric Stevick: 425-339-3446 or e-mail stevick@heraldnet.com.