February 2010 Facilities and Audit Finance Committees

The Illinois Valley Community College board’s audit-finance committee Friday announced it will recommend to the full board a $6 increase in the combined tuition and universal fee rate beginning this summer.

If approved by the full board Feb. 25, tuition will be set at $75.75 per semester hour, a figure the college believes may be the lowest rate in the state. The state average for 39 community colleges is $88.10.

The committee also recommended an increase in course fees and a $193 increase in the 10-semester-hour Truck Driver Training program. The truck driver training increase is due to increased fuel and equipment rental costs. At $3,400, IVCC’s program will remain among the lower cost programs in the region, said Dr. Rick Pearce, Vice President for Learning and Student Development.

Later, the board’s facilities committee looked at new schematic designs and exterior images for the proposed $25 million Community Technology Center. The committee selected new front door and east entrance design concepts they will recommend to the full board.

In addition, the committee reviewed favorable reports about the stability of the ground on which the CTC will be built. Both slope stabilization reports and analysis of soil borings revealed a stable foundation for the 77,000-square-foot building scheduled to open in 2013.

The committee will also recommend IVCC’s Therapeutic Massage program move from a temporary building into a permanent location in the upper gym.