July 22 , 2009
Neil Offen, The Herald-Sun

DURHAM — The cost of continuing education classes at Durham Tech is going up -- in some cases, way up.

Starting in the fall, the charge for classes that include 51 or more hours of instruction per semester will be $175. The previous maximum price for a class with 100 or more hours had been $65.

The increases are due to a decision by the N.C. General Assembly to change the fee structure and increase fees generally for continuing education courses offered throughout the N.C. Community College System. The community colleges were authorized to charge the new rates beginning July 1 for fall semester courses that begin on or after Aug. 15.

The steep hikes are a result, said Jamie Glass, Durham Tech's vice president and chief continuing education officer for Corporate and Continuing Education, of the "budget shortfall and the fact that fees have not increased since 1999."

Glass said the increase was unfortunate. "In these tough times of high unemployment, now is not the time to increase fees for occupational, skill training focused on immediate employment," she said.

But she insisted that the continuing education courses are still worth it.

"We still believe our course offerings are considered a great value for the dollar," she said.

Under the new continuing education fee schedule, the cost of a class of up to 25 hours of instruction will be $65; from 25-50 hours, it will be $120. Previously, it cost $50 for a class of 1-10 hours; $55 for 11-30 hours; and $60 for a class that had 31-100 hours.

"We anticipate [these increases] will have an impact on our enrollment," Glass acknowledged.

It may have an impact for Stephanie Levine.

Levine, who had owned her own business and been in middle management for large corporations, has been taking a continuing education Microsoft Word course this summer, to improve her skills and make herself more marketable for jobs.

"If your skills are not the best," Levine said, "it eliminates a lot of choices in the work force."

She's very happy with the course, for which she is paying $64 with a senior discount. "It's given me the confidence I need and expanded my skill level," she said, and she wants to continue learning next semester. But the next course would cost her nearly three times what she is paying now.

"It's not a big difference, it's an enormous difference," Levine said. "I'm having to be creative and think about a way I can pay for this. It's not that I can't justify it, there's no question about how important it is. But how do I pay for it?"

Levine explained that like many who are out of work, she is between a rock and a hard place.

"If we didn't need some of these courses, there wouldn't be an issue," she said. "But because we do need them, the tuition becomes quite an issue. We're trying to increase our skills, not our costs."