Nassau County legislators on Monday unanimously approved a $185 million Nassau Community College budget that includes a 3.3% annual increase in tuition, the first since 2021-22.

The budget for the 2025-26 academic year includes a $190 increase to annual tuition for in-state students taking 12 credits or more, making the yearly cost $5,990.

"It’s certainly been an opportunity for us to look at efficiencies in the college’s budget as we look to change programs and respond to the community and the students that are looking to us for excellent, affordable education," Maria Conzatti, the college’s chief administrative officer, said of the first tuition increase in several years.

Conzatti called the spending plan a "conservative" budget and highlighted a positive trend in enrollment in the last several years.

The last time the college's tuition was raised was during the 2021-22 academic year, when officials increased full-time tuition by $100 per semester, Newsday previously reported.

The budget does not increase the county’s contribution of more than $52.2 million and anticipates that state aid will remain flat at around $38 million, according to budget documents.

Last year, the county contributed an additional $2 million to prevent a tuition increase, college officials have said.

Officials will use $5.4 million from their fund balance as well, a slight increase from last year, but a "significant decline" compared with fund balance usage during the COVID-19 pandemic, according to a report released by the county's Office of Legislative Budget Review.

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The budget also includes an increase in service fees, as well as a 10% hike in lab fees, which currently cannot exceed $100 for students taking certain courses. The additional funds are necessary because the cost to run nursing and allied health courses is increasing, Jerry Kornbluth, vice president of the Office of Community and Governmental Relations, previously said.

The college's full-time employee head count is also decreasing by 37 to 721, according to the OLBR report.

In his report, OLBR Director Maurice Chalmers noted "OLBR believes that a risk to the budget would materialize if they cannot maintain the adopted enrollment figure, since outside and one-shot supplemental funding from the County, such as Tuition Freeze Relief and Pension Relief has been eliminated from the prior year."

As for Long Island's other community college, the Suffolk County Legislature is scheduled to vote on Suffolk County Community College's budget Tuesday.

At Suffolk Community College, full-time resident tuition would rise by $220 to $6,050 if approved. The cost of a single credit would rise by $9, to $252. The hike would mark the third consecutive year of increases.