Collegiate Times

Sara Spangler/Collegiate Times

Virginia Tech will call on increases to student tuition to close the gap resulting from reduced state funding.

The executive committee of Tech’s Board of Visitors agreed to the new tuition by unanimous vote at a special meeting Friday morning. While tuition rates are usually set at the full board’s annual spring meeting, the decision was delayed because of the late submission of the state budget to school administrators.

Virginia students at Tech will see increases of about 10 percent across the board, with overall tuition and fees rising to $9,589, an $854 increase from the previous year’s tuition of $8,735. After this tuition amount is set, it will be dropped by $130 for in-state students, as a result of funds provided through the American Reinvestment and Recovery Act of 2009.

The costs for on-campus residency are higher as well, as Virginia students living on-campus will see their overall costs rise from $14,559 in 2009-10 to $15,879 in 2010-11. Out-of-state students living on campus will pay $29,507, up from $27,702 for the 2009-10 school year.

In-state graduate students will now pay $10,993, up from $10,228 for the 2009-10 school year. Out-of-state students will see tuition rising to $19,957 from $17,928.

Virginia and Maryland students at the Virginia-Maryland Regional College of Veterinary Medicine will pay $19,675 in 2010-11, an increase from $18,415 in 2009-10. Out-of-state veterinary students will pay $42,704, up from $40,607 in 2009-10.

Coming with the increased tuition is a rise in student fees, including an increased price for parking.

Student parking fees will now be set to $189 for the 2010-11 year, up from this year’s price of $136. Faculty parking fees will rise from $179 in 2009-10 to $220 in 2010-11. The student activity fee will see a $48 increase to $373, and the athletic fee will rise to $257, up from $232.

The increases in Tech’s tuition parallel those made at other Virginia universities. Dwight Shelton, Tech’s vice president for finance and chief financial officer, said the increased tuition could bring increased revenues of about $19 million.

Virginia students living off campus at James Madison University will see a $616 increase to their tuition, while out-of-state students living off campus will see their bill rise by $1,248.

In-state students at Virginia State University who live off-campus will see their bill rise by $396, with their out-of-state counterparts facing a $628 increase.

Charlottesville’s Daily Progress reported Friday that the University of Virginia will vote this week on a proposal to increase tuition and fees by a total of $956, totaling about 10 percent of tuition for in-state students and $1,902 — six percent of tuition — for out-of-state students.

Shelton briefed the board on financial difficulties plaguing the university because of reduced state funding. University figures show state funding dropping from $152.3 million for the 2010-11 fiscal year to $135.6 million for the 2011-12 fiscal year.

Tech’s BOV executive committee consists of  John R. Lawson II, rector; Ben J. Davenport, chair of the Student Affairs and Athletics Committee; Michele Duke, chair of the Research Committee; George Nolen, chair of the Finance and Audit Committee; Jim Smith, chair of the Buildings and Grounds Committee; and Lori L. Wagner, chair of the Academic Affairs Committee.

Two members participated in the meeting via telephone, with Nolen calling in from Hilton Head, S.C., and Smith calling in from Prospect Point, Cayman Islands.

The BOV’s next scheduled meeting will fall on June 6 and June 7, 2010.

A version of this article appeared in the Apr 27 issue of the Collegiate Times.