Alabama Community College System (ACCS) Chancellor Jimmy Baker on Wednesday announced tuition will not increase for the 2021-2022 academic year across the state’s public two-year institutions.

As a result of the declining number of reported COVID cases and an increase in the number of students, faculty and staff taking advantage of access to vaccines, the ACCS also anticipates all community college campuses in Alabama will resume normal, on-campus operations for the coming fall semester.

Tuition at ACCS colleges costs $133 per credit hour, with 87% of students receiving financial aid.

In a written statement, Baker said, “This year has been difficult for many Alabamians and access to education and skills training shouldn’t be something that makes it harder. By freezing tuition and ensuring online, in-person, and hybrid classes are available at Alabama’s 24 community colleges, we’re doing our part to expand opportunities for coursework and training to help Alabamians build a better future.”

“From the beginning of the pandemic, our number one priority has been the health and safety of our students, faculty, and staff, and it will continue to be our primary focus as we work to safely reopen our campuses across the state,” he concluded.

This comes after Alabama’s community colleges rolled out a statewide Community Scholarship program featuring a tuition discount for buy-one-get-one-free classes at ACCS colleges for the spring 2021 semester. Additionally, they deployed 10,500 laptops to students to help ensure access to course materials was not an obstacle to course completion.

Sean Ross is the editor of Yellowhammer News. You can follow him on Twitter @sean_yhn