The second vote to raise fees was not unanimous, however, with Trustees Peter Wood and Stanley Gawle voting against the other seven trustees. Gawle said he objected to raising fees while the college is spending money to hire the equivalent of two new faculty members and two new staff positions. Also, Gawle said, the state Board of Higher Education and the state Legislature have increased funding to the colleges in recent years so that colleges will reduce academic fees, not increase them.
Colleges keep money from fees while most of the day tuition goes back to the state.
The college was among a minority of community colleges in the state that still charge higher rates for non-day students, said Dean of Administration Richard Hillier. The colleges can keep the tuition they receive from evening and weekend courses or any course taught by adjunct faculty. Adjunct faculty are non-union staff who earn a fraction of the regular faculty salary, and have until recently taught up to 50 percent of courses at Greenfield. The move away from two-tiered tuition comes as the state adopts a new contract for unionized faculty. Used with permission.