Santa Fe College had a busy day Tuesday, announcing tuition increases and professor pay raises, and receiving a $1.67 million grant for additions to a science facility.
Beginning in the fall semester, Santa Fe will be increasing its tuition by about 7 percent. Students taking 15 credits each semester will be charged an additional $171.60 each year.
Although this might not sound like good news for Santa Fe students, it could have been worse. The college was authorized by the state legislature to increase tuition by as much as 13.5 percent.
The increases in tuition will help the college pay its staff during the 2010-2011 school year. As soon as July, a 5 percent pay increase will be given to all faculty and staff, including $1,000 raises for full-time employees.
The $1,000 raise will be factored in before the 5 percent increase for full-time staff, according to Lela Elmore, the director of human resources at Santa Fe.
Additionally, the college has been able to save money through a two-year hiring freeze of non-essential personnel, she said.
Despite the freeze, some replacements have been made over the course of those two years. “Critical need” positions, such as police officers and certain professors, have been added when necessary, she said.
“The employees have banded together and we’ve done the same thing and more with less people,” she said. “It’s been able to save us money and keep us operating within the funds that were available.”
Santa Fe also received a $1.67 million grant to build a biotechnology laboratory that will be added to the Perry Center for Emerging Technologies in Alachua.
According to a press release, the project is expected to create 270 new jobs.
In addition to the biotechnology lab, the project will add a classroom, more office space and a biology and chemistry lab to the center.
The grant was awarded by the U.S. Economic Development Administration.
