The University Board of Visitors' finance committee approved a proposal yesterday that will increase undergraduate tuition and fees by $636 for in-state students and $716 for out-of-state students next year.
The Board also approved a 17.1 percent increase in tuition and fees for in-state graduate students to $9,200. Out-of-state graduate tuition and fees will increase 1.2 percent to $20,200.
The Board decided to approve budget plans for next year despite the General Assembly's failure to approve the state budget. The General Assembly is still in special session.
Leonard Sandridge, executive vice president and chief operating officer, said he believes the tuition proposal is consistent with market values, new programs and budget bills in the General Assembly.
"We believe it is the right one for the coming year," he said.
The proposal marks an 8.7 percent increase over last year's price for in-state tuition and fees, with a total cost of $6,600. Out-of-state tuition and fees will increase 3.9 percent to $22,700.
The Board discussed the contrast between in-state and out-of-state tuition. According to the Board's Finance Committee Chair Thomas Saunders, III, revenue from out-of-state tuition has been important in recent years as Commonwealth budget appropriations have been lean.
"It is one of our principal sources of revenue," Saunders said. "We cannot disregard this revenue stream."
According to Sandridge, many out-of-state students qualify for some portion of financial aid under the University's recent $16 million commitment to financial need, "Access U.Va."
Board member Mark Kington said a remarkable increase in out-of-state tuition could make the University less competitive among prestigious private institutions that have tuition rates only slightly higher than the University's cost of out-of-state tuition and fees. Average tuition and fee rates for private institutions are $28,893 per year, $6,193 more than the University's rates.
"If you bring your price in line, I'm not sure that we can compete toe-to-toe," Kington said.
According to Colette Sheehy, University vice president for management and budget, the tuition adjustments for graduate students were different from undergraduate tuition adjustments to accommodate for the increased enrollment of out-of-state graduate students.
"For graduate students, we take a bit of a different approach," Sheehy said. "We try to get the very best we can. You need to support graduate students."
Sheehy added that the University will be allocating more financial aid to in-state graduate students next year.
President John T. Casteen, III said recent adjustments in the Atlantic Coast Conference could create increased fees in future years to compensate for athletic costs.
"It will be a challenge for us," he said.
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