On their second meeting of the semester the City College Board of Trustees voted to raise the fee for non-residential students.

Under Education Code Section 76140 the annual vote states that the governing board of every community college in California must decide on a non-residential fee no later than Feb. 1.

This decision means that US non-residential student’s tuition fee will be raised from $225 to $235 per semester unit.

The raise would bring the cost of tuition closer to other colleges in the area to meet local standards. Ventura College charges non-residential student $230 per semester unit at the moment, a cost that could increase in February.

“I think that that extra ten dollars can be put to really good use,” said Trustee Craig Nielsen.

Even though the motion went through, not all the board members were convinced the raise would make much of an impact. Trustee Peter Haslund stated that the $10 would not make a significant difference for City College and did not support the motion.

In addition to the tuition fee, non-resident students pay a capital cost fee of $31 in lieu of local taxes. That money is used for capital projects and general campus maintenance.

The board also voted to support the idea of President Obama’s America’s College Promise for tuition-free community colleges. They currently don’t have any policy plans but support the sentiment behind the plan.

President Lori Gaskin said the board would “support President Obama’s Promise Plan, however recognizes this plan is not final, and supports further exploration in to this matter.“