OGLESBY – The Illinois Valley Community College board’s audit finance committee on Feb. 10 approved a tuition freeze for the fifth consecutive year.

Tuition and standard fees per credit hour will remain at $133 per credit hour for the 2022-23 academic year. IVCC has not raised tuition since 2018.

Vice President for Business Services and Finance Matt Seaton said the college’s “excellent financial health” and projected growth in the district’s Equalized Assessment Valuation (EAV) have allowed the college to hold the line on tuition.

In other business, Anthony Cervini of Sikich Certified Public Accountants and Advisors of Brookfield, Wis., presented the audit for the fiscal year ending June 30. The audit was unmodified, or “clean,” with no material deficiencies or weaknesses.

Committee members also approved:

• The selection of PMA Financial Services of Naperville as the college’s investment manager. Five firms submitted proposals.
• Contracting with Moran Technology Consultants of Naperville for nearly $80,000 to complete phase 2 of an IT assessment. Moran will provide a cybersecurity and programmatic review of all IT services. The fee will be paid for by Higher Education Emergency Relief Funds (HEERF).

The committee also learned:

• Fee adjustments were made to 114 courses including 59 increases, seven new courses and the removal of fees from 48.
• The college has been allotted over $6 million in HEERF dollars to be used for COVID-related expenses. The funds must be expended by May 2023. To date, the college has committed just over $3.8 million with approximately $1.7 million of that provided in cash to students to offset education-related expenses.

Seaton briefed the committee on grants recently received or applied for including:

• A $5,000 IGEN (Illinois Green Economy Network) grant to purchase a used electric vehicle for use as a ‘lab tool’ by automotive students.
• A $3,000 mini grant was received to purchase flat screen TVs and software to manage the messaging displayed on them.
• A FEMA grant of over $6,000 has been received to reimburse IVCC for pandemic-related expenses.
• A $4.4 million EDA grant was submitted Feb. 8 to construct an ag classroom and lab building. IVCC’s portion would be $885,300. The college has already secured a $240,000 DCEO grant for part of the new building’s parking lot.