Tuition continues to increase for colleges and universities statewide as enrollment grows at higher education institutions across Texas. However, colleges are trying to find a balance between rising tuition costs and quality of education to avoid tuition rates students can no longer afford to pay.

Although tuition and fees at the Lone Star College System have increased 41 percent since 2009, rates are still nearly $100 less for students enrolled in 12 semester credit hours than the state average for community colleges, according to the Texas Association of Community Colleges.

"Community colleges are truly becoming a first choice among parents and students because of the seamless transfer of credits to many institutions in Texas and across the U.S.," said Feleccia Moore-Davis, vice president of instruction for Lone Star College–CyFair. "When you know the student will still graduate from the college of their choice, this should be a first choice for many people."

Increased tuition costs

David Gardner, deputy commissioner of the Texas Higher Education Coordinating Board, said tuition has increased at public universities about 90 percent since the Texas Legislature voted to deregulate tuition in 2003. According to the House Research Organization, supporters of the legislation—HB 3105—believed tuition deregulation would provide universities flexibility to respond to state funding cuts.

Gardner said several factors have contributed to the increase, including competition for faculty with other states, maintenance of facilities and improved student services.

"I think that the most significant factor is just having to find a way to provide the students the services they need," Gardner said.

The vast majority of LSCS's tuition spike came during the economic recession, said Cindy Gilliam, vice chancellor of administration and finance for LSCS. Before that, she said the college would typically keep tuition flat during years of legislative sessions and then increase rates about $2 per credit hour in off years once the college learned how much state funding it would receive.

Gilliam said an increasing tax base helps LSCS keep its rates low as tuition and property tax revenue each account for about 37-38 percent of the school's total revenue. The remaining 24 percent comes from state funding.

"Our property values per full-time equivalent student are higher than the average community colleges," she said. "We have a good tax base and it grows most every year, some even during the economic crash. So we rely on that additional revenue without raising the tax rate."

Affording college

Tuition rates at community colleges are still substantially less than public universities. Gilliam said one class at LSCS can cost a fifth of the cost of the same class at the University of Texas.

"We're finding that many students, especially in this area, tend to look at Lone Star College as a way to save money, live at home and get those basics out of the way," said Donna Dunn, Cy-Fair ISD's coordinator for secondary guidance and counseling.

Jolyn Brand, founder of Houston-based Brand College Consulting, said financial aid programs are not keeping up with the rise of tuition costs. Brand said students from low-income families can face as much as $14,000 in tuition costs after the financial aid provided by Pell Grants.

"The Pell Grant hasn't increased nearly as much as the rate of tuition," Brand said. "Even for really low-income families, the maximum Pell Grant is $6,000 a year. That's not nearly enough to pay for tuition, much less room and board."

With students having to decide between taking out loans to pay for the remainder of their education, she sees more and more students opt for community college the first two years before transferring to a four-year university.

At CFISD, counselors start preparing students and their parents for the cost of college during their freshman year.

"There are scholarships out there for ninth grade students and younger, you just have to start looking for them and applying," Dunn said.

The district also partners with LSC–CyFair to offer a dual-credit program, allowing CFISD high school juniors and seniors to take basic classes through LSCS.

"We have some students who—by the time they graduate from high school—have 16 or 18 college hours in place," Dunn said.

Change to legislation

The state is trying to find new ways to make college more affordable, Gardner said. The Texas Legislature passed HB 29 in the 2013 legislative session, requiring higher education institutions such as public state colleges to offer four-year, fixed-rate tuition programs to entering undergraduate students.

Tuition at the University of Houston has increased more than 25 percent from $3,780 in 2008 to $4,750 in 2014 per semester. UH will implement its fixed-rate tuition plan in the fall with the UH in 4 Initiative.

Teri Longacre, vice provost and dean of undergraduate student success for UH, said the plan will allow students who take 25 percent of their degree's required credit hours per year to pay a fixed-tuition rate if they graduate within four years.

Anticipating a tuition rate increase of 2.2 percent per year, Longacre said the fixed rate plan could save students significant money over four years while encouraging students to graduate sooner.

"Four years gets students into the job market faster or into graduate school faster," Longacre said. "And the longer they stay in school, the less likely they are to finish."