State colleges and universities moved one step closer to gaining more administrative flexibility and autonomy Tuesday.
The Charter legislation, formally known as the Restructured Higher Education Financial and Administrative Operations legislation, was passed by a vote of 37-3 in the Senate and 76-22 in the House.
Del. Leo C. Wardrup. Jr., R-Virginia Beach, and 21 others who opposed the legislation are concerned that the bill was not researched thoroughly and that there were not enough public hearings, said Lee Mitchell, a representative for Wardrup.
"He felt that the actual discussion of the bill was rushed," Mitchell said.
Delegates who opposed the bill also were concerned about tuition increases the bill might cause.
"They are worried about giving colleges more free reign in raising tuition rates and worried about the strain on the college students," Mitchell said.
The original bill was presented to the House and Senate in January, but its current version features some modifications.
The bill creates a three-tier system, which provides an increasing amount of autonomy for Virginia institutions of higher learning.
The first level provides the least autonomy but gives schools expanded flexibility in procurement, tuition, personnel and construction.
The allows universities autonomy of level one in regards to leasing and building certification.
The third level of autonomy, which the University is seeking to gain, allows institutions to create individual management agreements in cooperation with the legislative and executive branches. Management agreements will allow schools at the third level to negotiate their autonomy and flexibility.
All institutions are required to create a six-year plan for tuition rates, enrollment growth, financial aid and procurement. Schools must also meet certain agreed-upon standards by the individual institutions and the legislative branch to maintain or increase granted authority.
The Board of Visitors and Student Council have been discussing tuition increases in light of Charter legislation, said Alexander Stolar, chair of the Student Council Legislative Affairs Committee.
"The University has decided, from maybe September, they would expect to have an eight to 10 percent increase in tuition rates," Stolar said. "The key thing here is that we know, whether or not this legislation is passed, our tuition will go up. This is the responsible thing to do."
With the bill, the University will be held accountable for continuing to maintain affordability.
"Should U.Va. not meet those expectations, they will be held accountable," Stolar said. "Hand in hand with an increase in authority will be an increase in accountability, and that's good for students."
Through AccessUVA, the University commits $18 million each year to financial aid in an effort to meet 100 percent of University students' needs. For students whose parents' income is below the poverty line, at the poverty line, or within 200 percent of the poverty line, 100 percent of financial aid is provided with grants rather than loans. For students who do not fit into one of these groups, loans are capped.
"The amount of debt is capped for all students," Stolar said. "No student will graduate with more debt than one year of in-state undergraduate tuition."
Stolar and the Student Council are confident that AccessUVA will continue to meet students' needs regardless of tuition increases.
"That's why we support this initiative -- understanding that AccessUVA will make it so that students can attend U.Va.," Stolar said.
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