A dozen community colleges across Connecticut will merge together after a vote passed on Thursday.

The Connecticut Board of Regents voted to merge 12 colleges together and turn them into one statewide school called Community College of Connecticut.

Mark Ojakian, the Connecticut State Colleges President, says this merger will prevent having to close campuses.

“This is about making choices and prioritizing where we spend our limited resources,” says Ojakian.

Officials say without this merger tuition, could have skyrocketed to $10,000 a year.

The board hopes to have the entire merger finished by the summer of 2019.