Total tuition rates and mandatory fees at all Virginia public colleges and universities will rise almost 7 percent, an average of $6,547, for the coming school year, according to a new report released by the State Council of Higher Education for Virginia.
But this increase of 6.8 percent is lower than the previous increase of 9.2 percent (from the 2005-06 school year to the 2006-07 year).
The lower increase can be attributed partly to the passage of the Higher Education Tuition Incentive Fund by the 2007 General Assembly, said Dan Hix, finance policy director at SCHEV.
This $7.2 million fund, part of the $655.8 million designated for higher education in the state between 2006-2008, is designed to minimize tuition increases. Colleges get a share of the fund if they cap tuition and certain mandatory fees at a 6 percent increase over the previous year. All of the state’s colleges met the requirements, Hix said.
At four-year institutions, the average increase will be 6.8 percent, or about $452 per student, bringing the average tuition and total fees to $7,083. Students attending community colleges in the state will see an average 5.4 percent jump, or about $130, with an average tuition and fees of $2,524.
Virginia isn’t among the states with lower-priced public colleges, but the state is making some progress on that end. In the 1993-1994 school year, the University of Virginia ranked fifth for highest cost among the major public universities, and several other Virginia schools ranked second among public colleges and state universities. It is estimated that in the 2007-2008academic year, UVa. will rank 13th and the others will rank 11th among their peer schools.
Tuition and on-campus housing rates combined continue to take a big bite. Hix said they will account for 40 percent of per capita disposable income for in-state students, a percentage that has risen steadily since 2001-2002, when it was at 33.1.
