THE BOARD of Visitors once again has decided to raise tuition rates. And once again, people around Grounds are whining and moaning about it. These same people rarely offer any constructive criticism about how to raise money without raising tuition. While this situation may heighten concern over the increasing cost of education, especially for out-of-state students, the hike is necessary to maintain the high quality of education at the University. The tuition increase is a way to make up for the General Assembly's lack of concern for higher education.
The Board's decision will increase in-state tuition fees by 8.8 percent. This translates into an increase from $4,197 to $4,569 a year, a $372 increase. Out-of-state tuition will go up by 8.5 percent, from $18,229 to $19,779, a $1550 increase.
Opponents of the tuition hike argue that education is getting too expensive for all but the upper-middle class. An extra $1500 tacked on to the already high tuition could make it difficult for many families to continue sending their children to the University.
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For the University to retain its reputation, it must have adequate funds. This task has not been made any easier by the Commonwealth of Virginia forcing the University to make substantial budget cuts. The General Assembly cut the school's budget by 15.6 percent or $25.7 million a year. The result has been budget cuts and hiring freezes.
The University needs a large sum of money to maintain its position as one of the top universities around the country. Top professors will not choose our school if they are not offered competitive salaries. Professors are like every other good money-loving American. They will go where they will be paid the most. The University is in danger of losing some of its existing professors if it cannot afford raises.
The current state of the economics department is an omen of what would have happened to many other departments if tuition were frozen. While a few new professors were hired, they do not make up for the 11 professors that are scheduled to leave in the near future. A shockingly small number of faculty members will be stuck teaching over 800 students in that major. The few economics classes that are offered likely will be taught by graduate students.
Imagine deciding on colleges as a high school senior interested in studying economics. Given the grim state of the economics department, it is not likely you'd choose to attend the University over another school with a stronger economics program.
The tuition raise may have saved other departments from going the way of economics. When hiring freezes coincide with professors leaving, departments can be left in disarray. When the administration comes to its senses and ends the hiring freeze, added revenues from the tuition raise can provide for a little extra money to lure that big name scholar away from Harvard or Princeton and bring him to the University. It can provide higher quality labs to draw professors and graduate students in the sciences.
Critics of the tuition hike also point to its inequality. Although the in-state increase is proportionally higher, out-of-state students' tuition will increase more than $1000 over in-state tuition. While both in-state and out-of-state rates were raised, out-of-state tuition remains much higher. The tuition hike will keep qualified out-of-state students, who will add to the University community, from considering the University.
The University competes with the private schools whose tuition remains far above that of the University. The 2001 edition of "The Princeton Review of the Best 331 Colleges" states that Georgetown's yearly tuition is $23,088 while Duke's is $24,890. The University's tuition is still thousands of dollars lower than that of these institutions. It has quite a ways to go before it reaches the level of these institutions.
No one likes to pay more money for anything. No one's parents will be thrilled to see the increase in tuition. But the increase is a necessary evil. It is a sacrifice that must be made to reclaim the University's status as the top public school in the country.
(Joe McMurray is a Cavalier Daily viewpoint writer.)
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