The University generated a nearly $5.9 billion economic impact on the Commonwealth in fiscal year 2015, according to the results of an economic impact study shared with the Board of Visitors Finance Committee at its meeting Thursday.
Paul Umbach, president of the consulting firm Tripp Umbach, presented the findings of the study to the committee.
In addition to the overall economic impact of the University, the study found the University also brings in about $239.9 million in revenue to the state and local governments through income and other taxes through spending.
“We get about $150 million funding from the state, so they make about $80 million off us,” Rector William H. Goodwin, Jr. said.
The study also found that the University accounts for 51,653 jobs — nearly one in every 76 jobs in the Commonwealth.
“That’s a pretty impactful number,” University President Teresa Sullivan said in an interview with The Cavalier Daily. “We affect the Commonwealth in ways people don’t always anticipate.”
The number includes people who are directly employed by the University, as well as jobs supported by University, student, staff and visitor spending.
“These jobs would not be in the Commonwealth if not for the University,” Umbach said.
Of those jobs, one in five can be attributed to research programs at the University, which have a $644.5 million economic impact.
The study estimates that between volunteer work and donations, faculty, staff and students at the University had a $70.3 million community impact.
Additionally, the study found an estimated 65,000 companies created by University alumni globally with $1.6 trillion in revenue combined.
During its meeting, the committee approved an increase in both the mandatory student fee and tuition for graduate students.
The mandatory student fee will be increasing by $66 for the 2017-2018 school year — a raise of 2.5 percent for in-state students and 2.0 percent for out-of-state students. The mandatory comprehensive fee will now be $2,670 for regular session in-state students and $3,352 for out-of-state students.
Over half of the proposed fee increase will go “to meet dramatic increases in student health volume in the areas of general medicine, counseling and psychological services, and accessibility needs across Grounds,” according to the Board of Visitors agenda.
“Student health is what I hear the most complaints about,” Sullivan said during the meeting. “Especially for student counseling services.”
The fee will also be used to support after hours and alternative programming, the WTJU radio station and increased IT security.
The committee also approved tuition increases for graduate programs for the 2017-18 school year. The exact increase varies by program and the number of years a student has been in their respective program
The average increase is around three percent, although increases are as high as 13.9 percent for students in their fourth year or beyond of the graduate engineering program.
The increases are intended “to better align rates with other programs and to reflect market conditions,” according to BOV documents.
University Vice President of Finance Melody Bianchetto, who presented the tuition proposal to the committee, had met with a student tuition advisory committee and student fee advisory committee to discuss the increases.
“[Bianchetto] got a lot of feedback and she was very collaborative with the students,” BOV member Phoebe Willis, a Law and Darden student, said.
Undergraduate tuition rates will be discussed in March.
The board also approved capital financing plans for renovations to Pinn Hall’s third floor and the Emily Couric Clinical Cancer Center, estimated at $12 million and $12-14.75 million, respectively.
As a condition of approving the third floor renovations, the finance committee will examine the possibility of renovating multiple floors at once to speed up the process.
During the meeting the committee also approved the issuing of refunding bonds in late January or early February 2017. Jim Matteo, associate vice president and University treasurer, suggested the University could raise $600 million more debt to match the median AAA rated public university.
“No one needs to be real worried right now about our financial situation,” Goodwin said.
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