Tuition increases at 10-year low

Virginia undergraduates at public colleges and universities in the Commonwealth this fall will experience the lowest tuition and mandatory fee increase in a decade.

The announcement comes as the State Council of Higher Education for Virginia releases its annual report on tuition and fees at public higher education institutions.

Joined by members of the General Assembly, students, representatives from the State SCHEV, college presidents and Chairman of the Governor’s Commission on Higher Education Reform, Innovation, and Investment Tom Farrell, Gov. Bob McDonnell announced that the average tuition increase of 4.1 percent represents a 3.8 percent drop from last year’s increase of 7.9 percent.

This year’s low tuition and fee increases were possible due in large part to the continued commitment of reinvestment by Governor Bob McDonnell and the 2012 General Assembly’s allocation of $230 million in additional general fund support to Virginia’s public higher education institutions in the 2012-14 biennium. The Governor and General Assembly’s reinvestment in higher education will help public institutions meet the goals of the ‘Top Jobs’ Virginia Education Opportunity Act of 2011, landmark legislation that calls for an additional 100,000 college graduates by the year 2025.

“I am incredibly pleased to see that when Virginia students go back to school this fall, they will encounter the lowest yearly tuition increases in a decade. We ran on a commitment to making college more affordable and accessible for Virginia students. Now, we are turning that policy proposal into tangible results for Virginia parents and students” said McDonnell.

“The Commonwealth must continue to pursue a policy to make higher education more affordable and accessible,” said Gil Bland, Chairman of SCHEV. “The average total charge for an in-state undergraduate student living on campus at a 4-year institution has grown from 32.2 percent of per capita disposable income (income available for spending and saving) in 2002 to 45 percent in 2012.”

SCHEV is the Commonwealth’s coordinating body for Virginia’s system of higher education. The agency provides policy guidance and budget recommendations to the Governor and General Assembly, and is a resource for Virginia colleges and universities on higher education issues.