The University has always been an outstanding institution,despite the General Assembly's best efforts to ruin it. This sad fact was confirmed again last week, as Virginia legislators proposed new tuition caps that would restrict the University's ability to increase in-state tuition. Coming at a time of deep budget cuts and falling Commonwealth contributions to higher education, these tuition caps will only diminish the University's ability to weather the current budget crisis. If Virginia legislators want the University to remain a competitive, top-flight institution, they should cease their meddling and allow the Board of Visitors to make what tuition increases it deems necessary.
In recent months, students and faculty in all departments have felt the pinch of budget cuts. On Nov. 1, 2001, Gov. James S. Gilmore III announced a downward revision of state revenue projections, and the University began preparing for significant budget cuts. Since then, many departments have implemented hiring freezes, cut travel budgets and limited discretionary spending in order to meet their new financial constraints. Such measures promise to continue in the future, as the Commonwealth's contribution to the University's budget is scheduled to fall by 12 percent in 2002-2003 and 14 percent in 2003-2004.
Given these steep cuts in Commonwealth funding, the University has little choice but to raise tuition in order to make up for the shortfall. Last November, President John T. Casteen III announced a mid-year tuition surcharge of $385 designed to raise $6.6 million. Further increases may be necessary, and the General Assembly should give University administrators the freedom to decide when and how much.
If the University is restricted in its ability to raise in-state tuition, the only alternatives will be to raise out-of-state tuition or pursue further budget cuts. Both courses would diminish the University's ability to maintain the quality of its programs and its national reputation.
One of the University's best selling points with out-of-state students is its relatively low cost -- compared to other institutions of similar caliber, the University is a bargain. This value attracts many highly qualified students who might otherwise attend one of the expensive private schools the University competes with. A tuition hike will make the University less attractive to these out-of-state students, who bring so much talent and diversity to the Academical Village each year.
Further budget cuts are an equally bad option. The hiring freezes imposed by most departments last year have substantially reduced the University's ability to recruit new faculty. The restrictions on travel and other discretionary spending have limited the current faculty's opportunities for continuing professional development. If such measures continue in the future, the result will be a steady decline in the quality of University faculty and a corresponding decline in the overall quality and reputation the University.
But more troubling than the possible effects of a tuition cap is the very fact that the General Assembly has seen fit to propose one. This attempt to control University policy can mean one of two things: Either Virginia legislators think themselves better qualified than the Board of Visitors to make decisions for the University, or they are selling out the University to enhance their political fortunes. Both possibilities suggest that the General Assembly is profoundly disrespectful of higher education.
The Board of Visitors is a body of well-qualified people appointed by the Governor (and approved by the General Assembly) to make major decisions for the University. Chosen for their expertise and well versed in University affairs, they are entirely capable of setting University policy. If Virginia legislators believe themselves better qualified to make decisions for the University, they are arrogant and mistaken.
But even more troubling is the possibility that the tuition cap is a proposal made purely for political gain. Limiting in-state tuition may be popular with Virginia voters, and in times of fiscal plenty, such limits are certainly justified. To restrict tuition increases in times of dire financial crisis, however, shows a callous disregard for the problems of the University. The General Assembly's willingness to compromise the University for political gain betrays a hostility to higher education that Virginia voters should not tolerate.
Given the bleak choices facing the University, the in-state tuition cap is a proposal of astounding short-sightedness. Whatever the popularity of tuition caps, in times of financial crisis, the first priority must be to maintain the quality and reputation of University programs. If the General Assembly cannot afford its usual contribution to the University's budget, it must allow the Board of Visitors to increase tuition as it sees fit. To do otherwise is to constrain the University when it is most in need of financial flexibility.
(Alec Solotorovsky is a Cavalier Daily associate editor. He can be reached at asolotorovsky@cavalierdaily.com)
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