NORMAN PARK — Two recent changes haven’t affected Brewton-Parker College’s enrollment at Norman Park yet, but they’re expected to have a big impact come fall.

The college’s satellite program, held at the Georgia Baptist Conference Center, currently enrolls 75 students, according to Campus Director Emory Smith. A huge reduction in tuition and implementation of a veterans education program are expected to swell that number above a hundred, he said.

Smith called the tuition cut “a historic decision” because it unlinks the tuition in Norman Park from the tuition at Brewton-Parker’s main campus, a four-year, residential college.

“Our pricing has always been based on what they charge at Mt. Vernon,” he said.

In the fall, tuition will drop from $430 per semester hour to $175 per semester hour, he said.

The purpose is “to make this program more available to people who want to retrain themselves,” Smith said.

In addition, Brewton-Parker is reaching out to veterans through Operation Yellow Ribbon, a tuition-assistance program funded under the Post-9/11 GI Bill, which takes effect Aug. 1.

Experts expect the new bill, which was passed in 2008 and marks the most significant increase in veterans’ educational benefits since the Vietnam War, to noticeably increase veteran presence on college campuses, according to information distributed by the Neiman Foundation for Journalism. The program covers tuition for returning veterans based on their time served and the cost of public in-state tuition. It provides a separate housing allowance and a stipend for supplies.

Brewton-Parker announced its participation about a month ago. Interested veterans can contact veterans assistance coordinator Karen Mock at (912) 583-3298 or by e-mail at kmock@bpc.edu.

Smith said he’s aware of one veteran already at Brewton-Parker in Norman Park, and two others have expressed interest in connection with the Post-9/11 GI Bill.

For more information about the bill, visit https://www.gibill.va.gov.