WAITING FOR that shopping spree over fall break? Think again. As students disperse next week for the Reading Holiday, the Board of Visitors again will meet to determine the collective destiny of the University. Tuition increased 8 percent from last year, and with the current fiscal crisis, few students would be surprised at another hike for next year. That change, though, may be coming sooner than later. When the Board convenes, it will discuss a proposal to create an unprecedented mid-year tuition boost, and considering the woeful condition of the University and state budgets, this plan must pass.
The numbers themselves best make the case for why the increase is necessary. According to Saturday's Daily Progress, the state has already reduced University funding by almost $14 million, and with additional cuts, the total potentially could reach $20 million. Yowsers. This is not to mention that the University must submit its proposals for dealing with additional funding cuts of seven, 11 or 15 percent to Gov. Mark R. Warner.
Already this year, the entire University community has felt the impact as officials have attempted to nip and tuck operating costs across the board. Libraries don't open until noon on Saturdays and one in the afternoon on Sundays. There's no Saturday mail. Students can no longer limitlessly print in public labs. The list goes on. So let's give credit where it's due -- the University as of yet has done its best to insulate students from a direct financial burden.
But it's time to face the music -- or the disharmonious screeching of pens across checkbooks. Tuition is the most accessible and reliable source of income for the University, and in extreme circumstances such as we now face, it should be able to take advantage of that source of cash. The proposition is not unreasonable. Vice president for management and budget Colette Sheehy, as quoted by the Daily Progress, stated that the money collected from tuition will serve "as an option to protect the academic programs." In other words, revenue taken from students will go directly back into their educations and not to the state coffers.
The Board already has posted its executive summaries for next week's meeting online, and the document describes what it calls the possible "tuition surcharge." The increase is listed as an "action item" that "authorizes the Executive Vice President and Chief Operating Officer to apply a mandatory surcharge on tuition for the second semester of the 2002-2003 academic year." The Board's proposal allows a maximum surcharge of $200.
For those students currently receiving financial aid, a surcharge would present even more pressure. Thankfully, the Board has made provisions for such students. Its proposal allows for Leonard W. Sandridge Jr., the executive vice president and chief operating officer of the University, to "amend the 2002-2003 budget to provide additional financial aid for students demonstrating increased need as a direct result of implementing the tuition surcharge." The Daily Progress also stated that the University will reserve $250,000 for students receiving federal Pell Grants. It's commendable that the Board has considered the impact of a sudden change on those already struggling to pay tuition, and the provision should quell any fears regarding those who might not have been able to afford an increase.
Undoubtedly, should the surcharge pass, students who can afford the increase will be crying bloody murder anyway. They'll say it's not fair -- not fair that the University can change the rules in the middle of the game. A lot of things aren't "fair," though. It's not fair that some students lost their jobs at the libraries. It's not fair that some subcontracted workers won't be returning. And it's a huge injustice that students will protest to the people who are trying to keep the University's head above water for the sake of their education.
Granted, it's inconvenient that the Board might make a change on such short notice. But putting off an increase until next year would be akin to waiting to cure an infection until amputation is the only solution. The University stands to gain almost $3.5 million dollars, and that's money that could be put to good use in the here and now. Surely, the University could never have anticipated the severity of the current economic shortage. It has no other choice than to pass the costs on to students after having been given the shaft by the folks in Richmond.
To students cringing at the extra $200: If all else fails, be frugal. Resist that new Abercrombie sweater. Order cheap Chinese take-out. Just be glad no one has mortgaged the Rotunda. Yet.
(Becky Krystal is a Cavalier Daily associate editor. She can be reached at bkrystal@cavalierdaily.com.)
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