By Alison McFerrin

The Selma Times-Journal

The draws of community colleges have always been the small size and the affordable prices, but one of those attributes is about to change.

The Alabama State Board of Education announced Thursday the plan to increase two-year college tuition rates by about 16 percent.

Tuition will go up from the current rate of $92 per credit hour to $107 per credit hour starting this fall.

“It’s an unfortunate additional cost the students will have to pay,” Wallace Community College Selma’s Johnny Moss said. “But these are tough times, and we will all have to make the adjustment.”

Wallace is one of 22 two-year colleges and four technical schools included in the Alabama Community College System.

The increase is expected to add more than $30 million in additional revenue at a time when state funding is decreasing and enrollment is increasing.

The Alabama Community College System says it has lost more than $100 million due to mandatory funding cuts caused by shortfalls in the state school budget. Funding is off more than $124 million since 2008.

— The Associated Press contributed to this article.