The University's Board of Visitors voted this weekend on plans for tuition and fee increases, approving the Board Finance Committee's recommended 8.8 and 8.5 percent hikes for in-state and out-of-state students, respectively.
These finalized changes will raise the total tuition and required fees from $4,197 to $4,569 for Virginia residents and from $18,229 to $19,779 for non-Virginians.
Following the Virginia General Assembly's $124.3 million reduction in higher education funding across the state, state lawmakers decided to keep individual college and university reductions within the range of 3.2 to 15.8 percent, depending on each institution's financial health.
Additional revenues generated by a high out-of-state student population led the General Assembly to approve a 15.6 percent, or $25.7 million, cut in state funding for the University.
"The tuition that's generated [from the increases] only covers half of that amount," said Colette Sheehy, vice president of management and budget. The remainder will come from spending cuts and hiring freezes that are being applied across nearly all University departments.
Graduate students from Virginia will pay an additional 9.7 percent, or $496, per year. Out-of-state graduate students will see a proportionally smaller increase of 2.7 percent, also $496. The smaller increase originated from concerns that additional costs for non-Virginian graduate students most likely would put more stress on financial aid programs.
News of the rising costs received mixed reaction from students, but most seemed more concerned with the University's reputation and future than with the personal financial implications of the changes.
"The tuition is still below other schools of the same quality," said second-year College student Jacques Fournier, an out-of-state student from Arizona. "What you pay for is mostly the academic reputation, and I don't think you really can get a better deal."
"It's a chance you take when you go to an out-of-state school," said first-year College student Kate Guttridge, who came to the University from Pennsylvania. In tough economic times, "you should expect to pay more," she said.
Other students feared the potential repercussions of rising costs for non-Virginians.
"I think it's harsh for the out-of-state students," said second-year College student Rishika Kaundal, a Virginia resident. "And our rank will probably go down," Kaundal said, referring to last year's drop in U.S. News and World Report's university rankings. The University fell from first to second among public universities last year.
Second-year College student Gandhrav Telhan, also from Virginia, questioned the General Assembly's cutback priorities.
"I'd say the problem is where the General Assembly is making their cuts," Gandhrav said. "Higher education is not something you want to sacrifice"
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