The Joliet Junior College Board of Trustees approved in a 5-3 vote on Wednesday to increase tuition and fees from $151 per credit hour to $153.

The tuition and fee cost for full-time students who take a minimum of 12 credit hours would increase by $24 in the fall 2026 semester. For students who take the recommended 15 credit hours for two-year completion, the tuition would increase by $30.

Before Wednesday’s vote, JJC President Clyne Namuo touted the financial strength of the college. He said the college’s history of financial management gives it the ability to make “small, thoughtful adjustments” to avoid larger disruptions in the future.

“To that end, the administration is recommending a $2 per credit tuition increase. This adjustment is not being proposed to solve a financial crisis. It is being proposed to prevent one,” Namuo said.

Namuo said the $2 tuition increase will provide an additional $400,000 in revenue, which will go to the education fund in the college’s budget.

The new tuition was opposed by trustees Alicia Morales, Maureen Broderick and Michelle Lee.

Morales said for many students, especially those “living paycheck to paycheck,” a small increase can influence “enrollment decisions, credit loads or persistence.”

“Our challenge is not primarily price. It’s enrollment volume. If enrollment is flat or declining, raising tuition on a shrinking base, is not a long-term strategy. It’s a short-term patch,” Morales said.

Morales and Broderick requested a delay on the vote. Morales wanted to see a plan for comprehensive recruitment and enrollment growth. Broderick wanted the administration to look for budget cuts.

Namuo said it was possible to push the vote, but he said it would help college officials to know sooner about the different revenues available to them for budget planning.

The college is developing the budget for fiscal 2027, which begins July 1. The board is expected to adopt the new budget on June 24.

Namuo’s administration initially proposed a $3 per credit hour increase. A few board members were either wary or opposed to a tuition increase in general.

But the administration then offered what Namuo called a “compromised recommendation” with $2.

That offer was accepted by Board Chairman James Budzinski, Vice Chairwoman Nancy Garcia Guillen, as well as trustees Diane Harris and Elaine Bottomley.

“I will be in favor of a tuition increase, with the recognition that as we continue to move forward through this budgeting process, that we take a critical eye. That we make sure we find the $200,000 of funding cuts that don’t impact our students, that don’t impact services, that don’t impact our staff,” Bottomley said.

Past board agendas in recent years have made it clear whether the board was going to vote on a tuition increase.

The agenda released last Friday simply noted the board was going to consider approval of tuition rates and fees for the fall. It was not publicly clear what the new tuition proposal was until Wednesday’s meeting.

No students showed up to public comment at Wednesday’s meeting to speak in favor or against the tuition increase.

Student Trustee Brenton Bishop also approved the tuition increase but his vote is considered an advisory vote.

Bishop was invited by Yolanda Farmer, JJC executive vice president, to “share the student perspective” during her presentation promoting the $2 increase.

Bishop said the students he spoke with were “supportive of a small, incremental increase over time compared to a one-time larger increase.”

Morales said she spoke to students who were not in favor of an increase, “even a small one.”

“Let’s be frank. This is up to a tank of gas. But it’s just that. A tank of gas for the longevity of the college,” Bishop said.

Broderick said she did not think the tuition increase would be fair to the students and she believed the college has been overspending.

Last year, Broderick opposed the $2.55 million land purchase for a new campus in Morris and opposed the college’s $314 million budget, which is a $10 million increase over the previous fiscal year.

Broderick has questioned the need for the new campus in Morris and she anticipated the tuition will rise by double digits in the future.

“You guys are just sitting with a bunch of money and you’re just approving, approving, approving. You’ve got to take a stance and look at what is hitting the kids. Look at accountability from our administration,” Broderick said.

Namuo said the budgets have yet to be developed for the new Morris campus or the Public Safety Institute.

Lee said she was concerned about projected decrease in enrollment at JJC and she also questioned the need for opening of the new campus in Morris.

“If I say yes to this, I feel like you’re going to come back and need more money,” Lee said.