Central Arizona College is offering free tuition this school year to all Pinal County residents as part of an effort to attract students after years of enrollment declines.
College enrollmentnationwide was hit hard during the COVID-19 pandemic, but Vice President of Finance Chris Wodka said enrollment at CAC was down prior to COVID likely due to Arizona’s strong economy.
"As the economy gets better and there's more people at work, typically enrollment numbers drop at a community college. It's when economic times are bad is when enrollment goes up," Wodka said.
Now the college is looking to use a part of the nearly $12 million in federal COVID relief funds it received to draw in new students for both the fall and spring semesters.
“I thought this would be one way of getting our enrollment up, kind of getting awareness out to the community, ‘We’re back, we’re open, come on over, free tuition. This is a time to take advantage of it,'" Wodka said.
Tuition and fees for two semesters at CAC typically costs $3,500 for a full-time student taking 30 credits per academic year.
This offer is available to all Pinal County residents who have already enrolled for the fall semester, or are interested in doing so. This is a last-dollar scholarship, meaning the college will cover tuition costs remaining after students' financial aid and scholarships have been applied, or cover the full tuition costs for students without scholarships or financial aid, Wodka said. Students who have already paid for tuition will receive a refund.
Classes start Aug. 23. Last day to register is Aug. 22. In-person, remote and hybrid classes will be offered this fall semester.
The college is also offer a three-credit tuition waiver for the fall semester for students who do not live in Pinal County.
