Collegiate Times

The Virginia Tech Board of Visitors did not vote on proposed tuition increases for the 2012-13 school year at its meeting Friday, choosing instead to examine additional fee
options.

“At this point, it’s time to go back to the drawing board,” said University Spokesman Mark Owczarski. “The challenge about this process is that it’s not just about setting one figure up or down. Tuition and fees have a ton of
variables.”

The proposed tuition changes — which included a 4.7 percent increase for in-state students, and a 5.9 percent increase for those out-of-state — were initial set to be discussed at the BOV’s March 25 and 26 meetings. However, pending the finalization of the state budget by the Virginia General Assembly, the discussion was held off until Friday’s
meeting.

Given the high priority the school places on keeping tuition as low as possible, the BOV chose to deliberate further to make costs as low as possible, according to Owczarski.

Shannon French, a sophomore biology major, is concerned but not surprised.

“I expect (my tuition) to just keep increasing and increasing,” French said. “I know that they may not be on their game, but I have no faith that they won’t increase
it.” 

The primary concern arises for prospective freshmen and transfer students, who are required to announce if they plan to matriculate by May 1. This lack of information puts many at a disadvantage, because now they will be unable to properly determine if they will be able to afford to come to Tech given their current financial aid
packages.

French believes the lack of information could be detrimental for scholarship students.

“Their funds are not always specific to the school tuition,” she said. “They’re set values instead of amounts that go a certain distance. So if they have to compensate for what a scholarship wasn’t covering, that could have more repercussions.”

As of Monday afternoon, there was no date set for a new BOV meeting to continue tuition discussion. Updates, Owczarski said, can be expected some time this
 week.

A version of this article appeared in the Apr 24 issue of the Collegiate Times.