The Cochise College Governing Board has voted to slightly increase tuition for in-state students beginning July 1.

The unanimous decision by the five college board members to pass the proposed tuition and fee schedule for the next fiscal year also resulted in an increase in dorm room rates and the elimination of the cheaper meal plan.

In-state students will now pay $54 per credit hour, an increase of $2. Out-of-state students taking up to six credit hours will see an increase of $3 per credit hour, to $81, said Denise Merkel, public information officer for Cochise College.

The increase is on par with the college’s most recent tuition hikes. In the 2007-2008 school year, in-state tuition was $47 per credit hour. That increased by $2 the following year, and increased again for the 2009-2010 year to $52.

The basic fee for living on campus in Douglas increased as well, and is now $850 per semester, up from $500.

With the completion of the new dorms, students now have the option of living by themselves in the old Huachuca and Chiricahua halls for the same cost as living with a roommate in the new dorms, Merkel said.

“That was an option the students were asking for,” she said.

Students taking a full load of courses while living on campus will see some breaks in the form of reduced combined rates.

The total cost to regular students enrolled in 16 or more credit hours for a meal plan and a dorm is $1,750, down from $2,300 last semester. Students taking only 12 to 15 credit hours will pay $2,175 per semester.

The majority of community colleges in the state are considering tuition increases ranging from $2 to $10 per credit hour for their in-state students, Merkel said.

In Graham County, Eastern Arizona College recently increased tuition for in-state students from $690 for 12 credit hours to $760, said Todd Haynie, director of marketing and public relations for the college.

Current costs per credit hour at Pima Community College in Tucson is $51.50, said its Marketing and Public Relations Coordinator Paul Schwalbach.

In other business at Tuesday’s meeting, the board also instructed Cochise College officials to move forward with the purchase of a three-acre parcel of land just east of the Sierra Vista Campus. At a cost of $330,000, the property extends east from the current campus to Guilio Cesare Avenue, but not as far south as Charleston Road, Merkel said.

No definitive plans have been drawn up for the land, but “there is talk of a possible east entrance to the college,” Merkel said.