Student Council heard from Michael Phillips, associate vice provost for budget and financial planning, and Katie Walker, assistant vice president of financial planning and analysis, at their General Body meeting Tuesday, where they asked questions about financial aid packages and voiced concerns about increases in tuition rates. Student Council also passed a bill to work alongside Aramark and provide emergency meal swipes for food insecure students to use, as well as discussed updates about lessening restrictions on access to the Hill, the grassy section on the north end of Scott Stadium.
Phillips oversees the budgets for the schools and academic entities across the University and reports to the Vice Provost for Planning. Walker’s role is to help with the University's Board of Visitors responsibilities and overall financial planning for the entire university.
Phillips and Walker discussed how the University balances priorities like excellence, access and affordability when setting tuition rates. Walker highlighted the importance of each department demonstrating the value they provide to students, including factors like graduation rates and job placement at both the undergraduate and graduate levels. In her comments, Walker said she believes that annual budget proposals should include funding sources aside from tuition increases wherever possible.
“When we give guidance to our units, we would say tuition and fee increase should be the last thing that you do,” Walker said. “Look to all other fund sources. Take a look at what your philanthropy is doing. Take a look at opportunities for spending efficiencies, anything you can do to mitigate proposing a tuition and fee increase.”
Ian Travis, College Rep. and second-year College student, asked whether the University looks at its peer state schools and private institutions when looking at raising tuition.
Walker said that the University considers whether or not to increase undergraduate tuition based on multiple metrics, including information from Virginia’s State Council of Higher Education for Virginia, which contains data on other public universities in the commonwealth.
In addition to questions about admissions practices, Jason Almas, College Rep. and fourth-year College student, asked whether there have been conversations about the potential privatization of the University and what it would look like from a financial perspective. When a university undergoes privatization, the institution shifts away from relying primarily on government funding and public oversight to a model that depends more on private sources of revenue, such as tuition, donations and endowments.
Walker noted that many influential individuals across the state send their children to the University and expressed doubt that they would want to see a substantial tuition increase, which she said is more typical of private institutions than public ones.
Phillips said that the conversation of university privatization comes up from time to time, but the benefits of being a state school demotivate them from considering such a drastic change.
“The state has helped pay for any number of buildings,” Philips said. “So to actually go full private, separate from the state, I don't even know what that bill would look like.”
In a follow-up question, Jada Benefield, Student Council chief of cabinet and third-year College student, asked about how the University plans on increasing the number of students who are eligible for Pell Grants — a federal grant that offers aid for students in financial need — if admissions officers take a need-blind approach to the admissions process.
Phillips said that Stephen Farmer, vice provost for enrollment, has a group working under him called the Virginia College Advising Corps that is tasked with trying to find students who might not otherwise know about the opportunity to go to the University. He said these programs are designed to show students that they could be able to attend the University and give them more guidance in the college admissions process, potentially admitting more low-income students in the process.
Phillips and Walker also provided an overview of the University's budget development process every year, informing Student Council of the University’s strategic financial planning and considerations around tuition and fees. Walker said that each of the University’s schools are currently preparing budget proposals for next year.
Beyond the guest speakers' visit, the meeting also included legislative action. Sylvia Rahim, College Rep. and third-year Batten student, introduced legislation calling on the University and U.Va. Dine to work with Aramark and provide additional assistance to students experiencing food insecurity. The legislation passed unanimously.
Rahim said to The Cavalier Daily that food insecurity is not an issue foreign to the University community, but affects a number of students on Grounds.
“The Office of the Dean Students said that 1,200 U.Va. students are at risk of being food insecure” Rahim said, “That is a pretty large percentage of our population at U.Va. that could be facing that and I think we shouldn't just discard them.”
According to Rahim, the concept of emergency meal swipes is not new in higher education. Other schools provide additional assistance to combat food insecurity amongst their student populations. For example, at the University of Maryland, students experiencing a financial emergency can apply to receive up to 10 free meal swipes that can be used at any of their dining facilities. Similarly, George Mason University’s Student Support and Advocacy Center Meal Swipe Program also offers 10 free meal swipes for students experiencing food insecurity.
Rahim also said that, with limited University-supported options or student-led initiatives available for food-insecure students — aside from food pantries and emergency funds — emergency meal swipes are crucial.
“I think [providing emergency meal swipes] is such a feasible thing to do, and I'm honestly surprised that we don't already do it,” Rahim said.
Building on his recent efforts from the last meeting, Jackson Sleadd, College Rep. and second-year College student, also updated Student Council about his discussion with the athletic department regarding removing additional restrictions to accessing the Hill. Since the beginning of the fall 2024 semester, access to the Hill had been restricted. This was a change implemented to regulate safety and capacity at Scott Stadium.
Sleadd announced that there will no longer be a sticker policy to enter and students can show their Student ID to enter. The altered policy will be in effect for the upcoming Boston College game Oct. 5.
“Instead of everybody swarming in, running over each other and cutting people in line, there [will] be some line to use so that there's more safety for students trying to get on to the Hill,” Sleadd said.
Student Council also discussed ways to assist those impacted by Hurricane Helene, with Travis stating that he plans to propose legislation for Student Council to contribute around $1,000 towards relief efforts in Virginia and North Carolina in response to the significant damage caused by the storm.
“Being that we are the flagship state school of Virginia, a state that got hit hard in the storm, I think that would be a really good thing for Student Councils to look to donate [to relief efforts],” Travis said.
Student Council also unanimously passed legislation this week to approve new Contracted Independent Organizations, which included Virginia International Arbitration Society, Cavalier Conversations and Religion Undergrad Student Association, among others.
Student Council will reconvene Tuesday for its next General Body meeting.
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