AACC’s Board of Trustees approved a fiscal year 2018 operating budget of $114.5 million on Tuesday, including a $3 per-credit hour increase in tuition and fees.

The college will submit its budget request to the Anne Arundel County executive on Wednesday. The County Executive can either fund the college’s request or reduce it and then forward it to the County Council by May 1. The County Council has until June 15 to approve the funding request.

The county funds slightly more than one-third of the college’s operating budget; the state pitches in about a quarter; and the college raises the rest mostly through tuition and fees. The college is requesting approximately $2 million more from the county than it asked for last year.

Melissa Beardmore, vice president of learning resources management, said the tuition and fee increase will cost a full-time student approximately $90 extra per year starting in Fall 2017.

Beardmore also said the increases “are consistent with” the college’s mission to keep the tuition affordable.

“Since fiscal year ’13, we have been having moderate tuition increases consistent with the guiding principles,” she said.

In a presentation to the Board of Trustees, Beardmore said the budget allows for faculty raises, the hiring of more academic advisers and support for programs like engineering and transfer studies and for replacing “critical technologies” in computer labs and classrooms.

“This budget includes several expenditure areas where students can see the impact,” Beardmore said.

Beardmore said the college is saving $1.7 million in FY2018 on the salaries of new hires and adjuncts, on closing the swimming pool and on other budget reductions.