Meeting with administrators on a Thursday in Clemons sounds less than inviting - but several students did so yesterday for a "Student Tuition Meeting." Colette Sheehy, vice president for management and budget, and Assistant Vice President for Budget Melody Bianchetto hosted a presentation which explained why the Board of Visitors plans to raise tuition today, and why students should understand this decision.
The important thing is not to panic. As the American Association of University Professors (AAUP) explained in a report released this week, the phenomenon of "sticker shock" occurs when there are overreactions to changes in the cost of college attendance. The AAUP noted, however, the listed price of attending college does not always reflect the net price, especially since many students will receive financial aid. The report cited statistics on four-year colleges gathered by the College Board. In the past five years net tuition has only increased 1.4 percent even though the published or sticker price has grown 5.1 percent during the same period.
There is a reason why tuition is growing. Included in the presentation Thursday was a graph showing the composition of higher education spending during the past half-century. As states have cut back their financial support the burden of payment for going to college has shifted to students and families.
The University and other public institutions in Virginia have faced a decline in state funding even as state politicians demand more degrees from colleges. Many are familiar with Gov. Bob McDonnell's call for Virginia to confer 100,000 new college degrees by 2025. Few are aware of his decision in December 2010 to withhold funding from Virginia Commonwealth University after the institution decided to raise tuition, a hike the school made in part because of how little the state had given it.
McDonnell proposed a budget in December which allocated more money to higher education, a move correcting the trend of decreased state support during recent years. But critics are concerned McDonnell's proposal would redirect funding from K-12 education. Both the University and the state government agree more college degrees are a good thing - the impasse comes in how to pay for them.
No one wants to say this, but we will: The state could raise taxes, including the gas tax and the state income tax, neither of which has changed in more than 25 years. If not, the University must continue to raise tuition in April as it has done year after year.
Families hit hard by the economy face rising costs for college; Universities hit hard by the state face growing demands from Richmond. In turn, the General Assembly has budgets to balance and constituents to keep happy. There is a price to pay at every level and voters who are against raising taxes will see costs in increased tuition.
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