VCU news

By Pamela DiSalvo Lepley
Division of University Relations

The Virginia Commonwealth University Board of Visitors today set tuition and fees for the 2010–2011 academic year.

In-state tuition and mandatory fees for in-state undergraduate students will be $8,817, an increase of $1,700.

Non-resident undergraduates will pay $21,949, a $1,200 increase. The out-of-state rate includes the annual capital outlay fee mandated by the state General Assembly to offset the cost of state debt service paid for academic buildings.

The average annual cost for university housing and meal plans will increase $191 to $8,526. (The rate is representative of system rates. Student housing and dining plan rates vary.)

Student financial aid will be increased substantially and targeted for students with the most need. Federal stimulus funding available for the 2010-2011 academic year will be used to support the increase in financial aid.

VCU historically has maintained the lowest tuition of any doctoral research institution in Virginia and among the lowest tuition and fees of the state’s public universities and colleges. With the latest tuition increase, VCU’s tuition remains lower than half of the state’s public colleges and universities.

University officials noted that VCU faces a $40 million budget gap over the next two years caused primarily by the loss of federal stimulus funding and continued reductions in state funding. In 2012, VCU will have lost about one-third of state support for instruction than it had in 2008, a decrease of more than $65 million. In the current year, VCU operates with about $13 million less in state support than it received 10 years ago, despite serving 8,500 more students.

More than 90 percent of VCU’s undergraduate students are Virginians, meaning that there are relatively few out of state students – who under state law must pay at least 100 percent of the cost of education – to offset the impact of state budget cuts.

“The financial circumstances of preparing for the largest cut in state funding of any university in Virginia leaves no choice but to substantially raise tuition,” said VCU President Michael Rao. “VCU has cut deeply over the past few years to deal with continuing state budget cuts and to keep tuition low – eliminating faculty positions, courses and class sections. Further cuts jeopardize the quality of education and the value of a VCU degree.

“Clearly VCU cannot sustain its mission with steadily declining state support and low tuition,” he said. "No president of a public university wants to increase tuition, but it is the only way to protect the quality of the learning experiences of our 32,000 students."

Rao said that the university will not rely on tuition alone to mitigate the impact of budget reductions and will aggressively pursue private donations for faculty and scholarship endowments. Additionally, the VCU alumni associations have launched the Opportunity VCU campaign to raise $50 million in scholarships.

Rao also announced that he will appoint an internal cost containment task force to aggressively look for methods that continue to further streamline operations and control operating costs.

“This is a difficult decision for board members,” said Anne J.G. “Panny” Rhodes, rector of the VCU Board of Visitors. “Our students deserve an excellent education and to be proud of their degrees. It is our absolute responsibility to ensure that this outstanding university does not fall behind in fulfilling its duties to ensure the success of every one of its students.”

The VCU board approved several other rate increases for the upcoming academic year, including those for advanced degrees.

Tuition and fees for in-state master’s students will increase $500 for a total cost of $10,514. Costs for out-of-state master’s students will increase $1,017 for a total of $20,194.

More information can be found at www.budgetupdate.vcu.edu.