FAIRFIELD — Students in the Maine Community College System will face a tuition rate increase of about 2.5 percent next year, if a proposal from the system’s president passes.

John Fitzsimmons plans to urge system trustees to accept the proposal at their next meeting, which will be at 11:15 a.m. Wednesday, June 27, at Kennebec Valley Community College in Fairfield.

The additional revenue would go toward bolstering student support and faculty staffing, according to the system’s public affairs officer, Helen Pelletier.

“Community colleges have grown 47 percent (in enrollment) in the last four years, and state support has increased 10 percent,” she said. “And so colleges have really been stretched thin.”

Pelletier said the 2.5 percent tuition increase would increase the cost per credit hour from $78 to $80.