In-state tuition and fees at public four-year universities increased by an average of $7,605 for the 2010-11 academic year, 7.9 percent higher than in 2009-10, according to the College Board's 2010 annual "Trends in College Pricing."
Average published tuition and fees have increased by about 24 percent at public four-year college and universities since 2005-06. But the College Board report pointed out that "published charges do not reflect the prices most students pay."
When considering grant aid and federal tax benefits, the average net price for full-time students has declined after adjusting for inflation. During this academic year, full-time students at public, four-year universities and colleges received an average of $6,100 in grant aid and from federal tax benefits.
"Half of all full-time public and private nonprofit four-year college students attend institutions charging tuition and fees less than $9,390," the report stated.
This increase in aid, however, does not entirely mitigate the high cost of attending college, which has increased significantly during the last five years at public four-year colleges. The current academic year saw an average increase of 7.9 percent for in-state students and 6.0 percent for out-of-state students.
About one-third of full-time students pay the full published tuition price with no grant assistance, the report said. The prices these students pay increase rapidly every year, as well as the fact that the national average increase of tuition, 7.9 percent, directly reflects how much more they must pay. In addition, non-tuition expenses associated with going to college, such as textbooks prices and meal plans, continue to rise.\n"Grant aid is rarely sufficient to meet those costs," according to the report.\nConcurrently, the average income for many families have either stagnated or declined, making it more difficult to pay to attend college. In 2009, the average income was 11 percent lower than it was a decade earlier for the bottom 20 percent of families, 5 percent lower for the middle 20 percent and the same as a decade earlier for the top 20 percent.\n"The assets many families have saved to pay for college have diminished in value," the report stated. But students are finding ways to finance their higher education because of the trend that more education generally leads to higher earnings throughout life. In 2009, the median family income for those with a college degree or higher was $99,707 compared to $48,637 for those with a high school diploma, the report stated.
According to the State Council of Higher Education for Virginia 2010-11 Tuition and Fee Report Highlights, Virginia undergraduate students will pay in total an average of 7.6 percent more during 2010-11 than they did for the previous academic year, including room and board charges. The average net tuition and fee prices, however, have decreased because of an increase of grant aid.
Last year, the University's Board of Visitors approved a 9.9 percent tuition and fees increase. During 2009-10, according to the SCHEV report, the in-state undergraduate tuition and fees at the University ranked 10th-highest nationally among public schools, the same rank it received for 2008-09. The report also estimates that the University will move up to ninth place for the current academic year. Tuition and required fees for in-state University undergraduates will increase by $956 to $10,628 and out-of-state undergraduate tuition and fees will increase by $1,902 to $33,574, making this year the costliest tuition in seven years.
The Board emphasized keeping the University affordable - comparing it to 26 national peer institutions such as Cornell and Vanderbilt Universities - but the increase in cost "reflects economic realities," according to a press release.
The tuition hikes during the past five years have been the result of cuts in funding from the General Assembly, said Kirsten Nelson, SCHEV director of communications and government relations. Public schools receive funding in two ways, either from the General Assembly or from student tuition, and when the economy is in poor shape, it is tuition that inevitably is increased.
"If the money from the General Assembly goes down, the schools don't want to cut services or professors, so tuition has to go up," Nelson said, adding that tuition only pays for teaching expenses and not construction projects or athletics programs.
To help compensate the state general fund budget reductions and to mitigate tuition increases for in-state students, the General Assembly allocated $75 million during the 2010 fiscal year and $198.3 million in 2011 of federal stimulus funds to public higher education institutions. The University received $5,559,100 in 2009-2012 and $21,892,717 in 2010-11.
Without the ARRA, Nelson believes that "tuition increases this year could have been even worse."
Nevertheless, Nelson said the University will face two hurdles in 2012, when funding from the stimulus act will end and the University will receive a $14.7 million reduction in its state appropriations.
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