The infusion of federal stimulus dollars has meant that UDC’s tuition increase can be phased in over two years rather than all at once. President Barack Obama’s emphasis on strengthening community colleges as a way to retrain America’s work force may also provide a boost to the fledgling community college, which has open admissions. In addition, even if UDC doubles its tution to about $7,000 that’s still an attractive price in these tough times.
Still, many faculty members and students fear Sessoms’ agenda. But Rode is willing to take a chance on change. She told Sessoms she’d rather see UDC go out with a bang rather than a whimper. Sessoms replied, “We don’t have a choice; we’re going to fl y or fail because UDC has no more whimpers left.”
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