LTCC offers reduced tuition to some Nevada residents

Starting in the upcoming Fall 2016 quarter, Lake Tahoe Community College will once again be offering reduced tuition to residents of certain nearby Nevada communities in the Tahoe Basin. Up to 100 Nevada residents living in specific communities who meet the parameters established in the new partnership between California and Nevada can tap into the new, lower cost, which is three times the California resident rate, or $93 per unit. This equates to a savings of $88 per unit from the $181 per-unit rate established for all other non-residents attending LTCC.

In order to be eligible for the $93 rate, Nevada students must be enrolled in at least six units each quarter, and must have committed to either earning an A.A. degree, a departmental certificate, or to transferring to a four-year school after completing their work at LTCC. The reduced tuition program is available to high school students as well, but not to K-8 students. To qualify, students must be residents living in one the following zip codes: 89102 (Crystal Bay), 89451 and 89450 (Incline Village), 89413 (Glenbrook), 89448 (Zephyr Cove), or 89449 (Stateline).

Students can access the reduced rate by submitting an Interstate Attendance Agreement Application, available on LTCC’s website (www.LTCC.edu) or in the One Stop Enrollment Center in the Main Building on LTCC’s campus. The Interstate Attendance program will only be extended to a maximum of 100 students per year, and it is available on a first come, first served basis. Applications will be reviewed weekly, and a determination of eligibility will be made based on certain criteria including the completeness of the application, residency status, enrollment status (full time or part time), school attendance records, and other factors.

In order for Nevada students to continue to receive the reduced rate, they must meet satisfactory academic progress standards each quarter. There is an appeal process available to students who have extenuating circumstances that kept them from meeting the academic requirements.

LTCC’s new California-Nevada Interstate Attendance agreement replaces the two-decades-old Good Neighbor Policy, which was discontinued in 2011 when Nevada’s system of higher education was forced to make deep cuts during the country’s recession. The loss of the GNP affected low-income students living in communities near Stateline particularly hard. Many were service industry workers who could no longer afford to continue their college studies at LTCC, and had difficulty affording the commute to Carson City to attend Western Nevada College.

To make the new Interstate Attendance program a reality, LTCC Superintendent/President Dr. Kindred Murillo knocked on doors in Sacramento and in Carson City, reaching out to legislators to try to work out an agreement both states could get behind. California Senate Bill 605, written by Sen. Ted Gaines, was signed into law by Gov. Jerry Brown in October 2015. A similar bill, Nevada SB414 written by Sen. James Settelmeyer, was signed into law by Gov. Brian Sandoval in June 2015.

“I would like to thank President Kindred Murillo for all her efforts in making this a reality for our local Nevada students,” said Sue Gochis, Executive Dean of Student and Academic Support Services. “Her dedication to this initiative will allow LTCC to serve many more students.”

For more information about the Interstate Attendance Agreement program and its eligibility requirements and costs, please contact LTCC’s One Stop Enrollment Center at (530) 541-4660 ext. 211, or send an inquiry email to Admissions@ltcc.edu.