Long Beach City College experiments with tiered pricing

http://www.latimes.com/local/la-me-college-classes-20140204-1,0,3942389.story

Legislation allowed six colleges to offer high-demand courses at a higher price. Only Long Beach is trying it, to the irritation of some.

Long Beach City College experiments with tiered pricing
By Jason Song
February 3, 2014, 6:21 p.m

~snip~

Then Hilt heard that the school had openings for her long-awaited class. There was just one catch: The monthlong winter extension course could cost up to $225 per unit, nearly five times the normal price.

Hilt went for it. The 26-year-old needed the class to learn to take blood samples for a new career as a medical technician.

She ended up paying $135 — instead of the full price of $337.50 — because of a fee waiver granted by the school. Hilt said she was uncomfortable shelling out almost double what the course normally costs, but she said she just "couldn't keep waiting it out."

Long Beach City College is the first in the state to offer a tiered pricing plan, approved by the state Legislature last fall. Under the law, six community colleges were allowed to implement a two-tiered pricing system for high-demand classes during summer and winter terms until 2018. The two-year colleges typically charge $46 per unit, among the lowest in the country.