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BOV to discuss increases in tuition, residential fees

The Finance Committee says raising tuition fees is a “last resort”

Courtesy University of Virginia
Courtesy University of Virginia

Among other items, the Board of Visitors is set to approve an increase in tuition and other fees for in-state and out-of-state students for the 2022-23 and 2023-24 school years, along with raising the prices for faculty housing. The is also set to approve the name for the new Contemplative Sciences Center Building and establish a handful of new professorships.

The 17 members of the Rector and Visitors of the University serve as the institution's corporate board, deliberating and voting on long-term planning initiatives — including capital projects, policies and budgets.

The Finance Committee will present and make recommendations for upcoming tuition hikes for the next two academic years at its 8:30 a.m. meeting Friday. Its tuition philosophy is to “prioritize affordability, accessibility, and maintaining high quality,” according to the committee, which notes that it looks to other revenues and savings before raising tuition, calling it a “last resort.”

Still, the committee will recommend raising undergraduate tuition by 4.7 percent during the 2022-23 school year and an additional 3.7 percent during the 2023-24 school year. According to the committee’s documents, a one percent increase in tuition generates a $3 million net gross for the University, with tuition increases going towards countering inflation, staff pay increases, utilities and the library system.

The school is also proposing an increase in its mandatory non-education and general fees for full-time students. The increase, which is proposed as an additional $128 in 2022-23 and $134 in 2023-24, will be split among increased needs for student health and counseling, recreational facilities, and University Transit compensation, along with operational needs for athletics, student programming and Newcomb Hall.

The price of staff housing rates in 2022-23 is also set to increase by an average of 4 percent over the previous years’ rates. Student housing is also proposed to see a jump, with room and board costs expected to increase by 3.6 percent and 4.3 percent, respectively. The increase in funding is planned to help support the 2030 Great and Good Plan’s efforts to build more student housing on Grounds.

The increase in tuition will be discussed before the Board’s Finance Committee before being approved by a vote of the full Board on Friday. Fees are also set to go up at the College at Wise, with undergraduates set to increase by 3 percent in both 2022-23 and 2023-24.

The Buildings and Grounds Committee will also vote to officially name the Contemplative Sciences Center Building the Contemplative Commons at its 2:15 p.m. Thursday meeting. The building’s name was suggested by the project’s lead donors, Paul Tudor and Sonia Klein Jones.

The committee is also set to discuss the concept for an addition to the U.Va. Encompass Health Rehabilitation Hospital in Fontaine Research Park and will discuss progress towards the University’s 2030 Sustainability Plan.

According to the Building and Grounds Committee’s planned presentation, the University has reduced overall emissions by 44 percent since 2010 in addition to cutting water and waste by 22 and 33 percent, respectively, over that same time period.

An update on the highly anticipated Ivy Corridor projects is also expected, with construction set to begin on the School of Data science in early January and the new University Hotel and Conference Center to break ground in the spring.

Finally, the Academic and Student Life Committee will establish new professorships and directorships during its 3 p.m. meeting Thursday.

The Board will vote on the establishment of the Donna and Richard Tadler University Professorship of Entrepreneurship, which is being named after Richard and Donna Tadler, donors and alumni who both graduated from the University in 1979. 

It will also vote on the establishment of the Third Lawrence R. Quarles Professorship in Engineering & Applied Science, with the Lawrence R. Quarles Professorship now providing enough annual income to establish a third professorship. The Board will also vote on the Ann Warrick Lacy Distinguished Professorship, which is being named after the mother of University donor Lindwood A. Lacy Jr. 

Finally, the Board will consider the establishment of the Barbara Fried Directorship of the Center for Teaching Excellence, named for Barbara Fried, a current member of the Board and president of real estate development and management firm Fried Companies, Inc. The endowment is set to “provide impactful resources that will allow faculty members to teach in increasingly innovative and effective ways.”

The meetings will be held in open and closed session, with the open sessions streamed live for public viewing to be accessed at https://bov.virginia.edu/live. 


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