Community College of Allegheny County trustees will be asked Thursday to approve a 4 percent tuition increase covering approximately 30,000 credit-seeking students during the 2008-09 academic year.

CCAC interim President Michael T. Murphy announced the planned move yesterday after the trustees' Finance Committee met to discuss a proposed new science center for the Allegheny campus on the North Side.

The rate increase, if approved, would lift tuition from $82 per credit to $85.25, an increase of $78 a year for a full-time student taking 24 credits.

Dr. Murphy cited rising costs for everything from utilities to labor. But he said even with the increase, he believes CCAC would be in the lower half of community colleges statewide in terms of price.

"On a comparative basis, CCAC tuition is pretty low," he said.

The hike, likely to be voted on by the full trustees board Thursday, would be the largest since an 8 percent increase in 2004. The college raised tuition by 2.5 percent last year and did not increase it in 2006.

The full board also is expected to take up a proposal to build a $17.4 million science center to house programs now in antiquated West Hall. Officials are calling the plan perhaps the most significant project in CCAC's recent history, giving it precious new classroom and lab space for the sciences, which are CCAC's biggest anticipated growth area.

On the Allegheny campus, enrollment in the sciences is up by 99 percent from 2000, compared with an overall enrollment growth of 28 percent, according to data released by the college yesterday.

"It will provide state-of-the-art instruction for what are essentially the signature programs of the college, which are essentially health-related," Dr. Murphy said.

Beyond that, "it will demonstrate the college's commitment to a community that has a great interest in health care," he said.

"I support it 100 percent. I think it's a great move forward," said Finance Committee Chairman Jerry Fedele.

The full board last month discussed the project, including the addition of a fourth floor, and the likelihood that the state will cover about half the cost. Trustees are expected to be asked to float bonds totaling $22 million to finance both the center and several smaller ones.

If approved, CCAC envisions breaking ground behind the physical education building off Ridge Avenue in late 2009 and completion in January 2011.