California legislators have reduced the per-unit tuition fees at community colleges in the state starting this month, including at Sierra College.

The fees have dropped from $26 to $20, Dean Neal Allbee of Sierra College Nevada County campus said. He said he expects the lower fees to bring more students into the classrooms.

“Understanding that they had raised the fee from $18 to $26 a year ago, it tells us the Legislature is listening to the chancellor’s office (from different community colleges),” Allbee said.

“Numbers clearly show, every time they raise the tuition, we see a dip in the number of students in community colleges. When the fees per unit went from $18 to $26, we lost many students,” Allbee said. Students will come back to school when the tuition is lower.”

Allbee estimates an increase of about 2 percent in student enrollment across the Sierra College district in the near future. The increase could show up as early as the spring semester, but should be noticeable in fall, Allbee said.