May 2, 2010 (ANNARBOR.com, Kellie Woodhouse)—After the latest round of tuition increases at Washtenaw Community College, tuition will have increased 43.3 percent over the course of six years.

This year's 4.3 percent increase equates to $4 per credit for in-district students during the 2012-2013 academic year, bringing the cost to $96 per credit. A typical 12-credit semester will cost $1,152 for an in-district student.

Higher education funding expert Jennifer Delaney, assistant professor in EPOL, said that as community colleges raise prices, it's imperative for them to stay within the realm of affordability.

"In terms of caring about access and students actually attending college and having some sort of training out of high school, it's very important that states have some sort of low cost option," she said. "Affordability can close down those doors so that individuals aren’t able to acess anything beyond high school and that can be a real problem."

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