Proposed legislation that would offer the children of faculty members at state universities a reduction in tuition rates narrowly survived a vote in a General Assembly subcommittee for education. The bill, sponsored by Sen. Creigh Deeds, D-Charlottesville, and Sen. John Edwards, D-Roanoke, now goes before the finance committee.
Several senators, including higher education subcommittee chairman Richard Saslaw, D-Springfield, attempted to kill the bill, while a few University professors spoke in support of it.
According to Sen. Brandon Bell, R-Roanoke, the opposition to the bill was mainly based on the fact that the senators did not know where money to fund the measure was coming from.
"I don't think there is any broad-based opposition to it, I think its just a matter of how you fund it," Bell said.
The legislation was drafted by the Faculty Senate of Virginia, a statewide group of faculty, and the group's vice president, University History Prof. Jeffrey Rossman, spoke in favor of the bill at the meeting of the Senate higher education subcommittee.
"I think it'll help all the public universities with recruitment and retention," Rossman said.
Economics Prof. John Pepper said that he has seen faculty members with children compare employers based on the reduced tuition benefit and make decisions because of it.
"It would be a big deal for me--I do have three kids," he added.
University Faculty Senate Chair Kenneth Schwartz pointed out that private universities are more likely to offer the benefit than public schools, but cited the example of the University of Michigan, which offers a 50 percent tuition discount. Pepper also explained that reduced tuition is of greater value to faculty members at private schools.
"Private universities have the advantage of often offering generous compensation in this way," Pepper said. "If public universities like U.Va. offered higher salaries it would make up for it, but they don't. Duke offers similar salaries, but also a reduced rate for children."
"Big-name faculty members do bring a lot of research grants and funds," Schwartz said.
Schwartz pointed out that the University can make up by offering other employee benefits.
"Benefits include a lot of things, and a single one won't determine if a faculty member decides to come or not," he said.
The bill's passage in the education subcommittee was just the first step and some supporters feared it would be passed over in favor of other legislation with a broader base of public support.
"I think it's a long shot," Rossman said. Instead, he predicted the state's most pressing financial need was for new roads in Northern Virginia. "That's where the surplus money will go."
Rossman suggested the bill was more likely to pass if individual universities, rather than the Commonwealth, bore the cost of the benefit.
Editor's note (Jan. 24): The online version of this article has been updated to reflect a correction.
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