VCU anticipates at least $50 million in new spending will be incorporated into its FY26 budget. (BizSense file)
The VCU Board of Visitors recently discussed the university’s upcoming budget and tapped two members with backgrounds in the banking sector to lead the group.
The university anticipates more than $50 million in new spending will need to be fit into its in-the-works fiscal year 2026 budget, VCU CFO Meredith Weiss told board members on Friday.
About half of that is $24.6 million in tuition waivers for students who get benefits through the Virginia Military Survivors and Dependents Education Program. Other new expenses include VCU’s contribution – $16 million – for state-mandated faculty and staff salary increases. VCU also anticipates a $9.7 million, inflation-related increase for things like faculty promotions and maintenance contracts.
In addition to the millions of dollars that VCU expects it’ll be required to cover, the university wants to spend $17.3 million in measures intended to strengthen its academics.
Those expenses would include an $8.7 million interdisciplinary innovation program for faculty to prototype degrees and certificates. Further new investments on the scale of $8.6 million include funds to launch and develop academic programs, implement a student retention program and expand internship opportunities.
With those costs looming, and some fund reallocations already planned, VCU is currently anticipating a budget shortfall of $16.2 million, and Weiss said the university was weighing a variety of strategies to close the gap.
“We’re looking at additional cuts, realignments and efficiencies,” she said.
University staff are expected to bring a possible game plan for filling that hole to the board in the coming weeks. The board is anticipated to have an FY26 budget before them for final approval in May or June.
A tuition increase could potentially be part of the solution. Weiss said that a 1% increase would generate $4.5 million in new funds, and that a 3.6% tuition increase would cover the entire anticipated budget shortfall.
VCU President Michael Rao told the board his objective was to avoid a tuition hike, and said that increases to tuition created a barrier to whether people enroll at VCU.
“We’re at a point where we really have to start thinking about this in terms of what it does to access and it includes out-of-state access too. So my goal is to see if we can find a way to zero depending on what the government support is,” Rao said.
VCU charges the typical, in-state undergrad enrolled in 15 credits per semester $16,720 in tuition and fees for the current 2024-2025 academic year. That rate was set last spring, and was a 2.7% increase to the tuition rate over the 2023-2024 academic year.
While enrollment for the upcoming fall semester looks promising, Weiss said it was too early to tell what kind of growth the student body might see.
“Early indications seem that enrollment is increasing,” she said. “We won’t know where it lands until the fall, but that seems to be going well.”
VCU’s budget for the current FY25 cycle is $1.7 billion. A 1% cut to the university’s operating budget would free up $6.4 million.
What VCU’s FY26 spending plan will look like is still being determined, and will depend on the state’s budget, which was still in the works and not yet finalized as of the board’s budget briefing on Friday.
The university is planning for at least $16.1 million in state funding support, including $8.1 million for the military-family waivers program and $8 million for the state-mandated, 3% salary hikes. It anticipates a one-time infusion of $10.8 million from the state for operating support in FY26.
Also at last week’s meeting, the board approved appointments to the body’s leadership posts.
Ellen Fitzsimmons was elected to serve as rector of the board. As rector, she will lead the 16-member body that governs the university and sets its annual budget.
Fitzsimmons is former chief legal officer and head of public affairs at Truist Financial Corp. She was appointed to the VCU board by Gov. Glenn Youngkin in 2022.
Steven DeLuca was tapped to serve as the board’s vice rector. The Capital One vice president and head of state and local government affairs was appointed to the board by Youngkin in 2023.
Fitzsimmons and DeLuca will assume their leadership roles on the board July 1 and serve two-year terms.
Currently, the board’s rector is Todd Haymore, who is chief of Hunton Andrews Kurth’s global economic development, government relations and commerce group. The board’s vice rector is Andy Florance, CEO and founder of real estate data firm CoStar Group.
VCU anticipates at least $50 million in new spending will be incorporated into its FY26 budget. (BizSense file)
The VCU Board of Visitors recently discussed the university’s upcoming budget and tapped two members with backgrounds in the banking sector to lead the group.
The university anticipates more than $50 million in new spending will need to be fit into its in-the-works fiscal year 2026 budget, VCU CFO Meredith Weiss told board members on Friday.
About half of that is $24.6 million in tuition waivers for students who get benefits through the Virginia Military Survivors and Dependents Education Program. Other new expenses include VCU’s contribution – $16 million – for state-mandated faculty and staff salary increases. VCU also anticipates a $9.7 million, inflation-related increase for things like faculty promotions and maintenance contracts.
In addition to the millions of dollars that VCU expects it’ll be required to cover, the university wants to spend $17.3 million in measures intended to strengthen its academics.
Those expenses would include an $8.7 million interdisciplinary innovation program for faculty to prototype degrees and certificates. Further new investments on the scale of $8.6 million include funds to launch and develop academic programs, implement a student retention program and expand internship opportunities.
With those costs looming, and some fund reallocations already planned, VCU is currently anticipating a budget shortfall of $16.2 million, and Weiss said the university was weighing a variety of strategies to close the gap.
“We’re looking at additional cuts, realignments and efficiencies,” she said.
University staff are expected to bring a possible game plan for filling that hole to the board in the coming weeks. The board is anticipated to have an FY26 budget before them for final approval in May or June.
A tuition increase could potentially be part of the solution. Weiss said that a 1% increase would generate $4.5 million in new funds, and that a 3.6% tuition increase would cover the entire anticipated budget shortfall.
VCU President Michael Rao told the board his objective was to avoid a tuition hike, and said that increases to tuition created a barrier to whether people enroll at VCU.
“We’re at a point where we really have to start thinking about this in terms of what it does to access and it includes out-of-state access too. So my goal is to see if we can find a way to zero depending on what the government support is,” Rao said.
VCU charges the typical, in-state undergrad enrolled in 15 credits per semester $16,720 in tuition and fees for the current 2024-2025 academic year. That rate was set last spring, and was a 2.7% increase to the tuition rate over the 2023-2024 academic year.
While enrollment for the upcoming fall semester looks promising, Weiss said it was too early to tell what kind of growth the student body might see.
“Early indications seem that enrollment is increasing,” she said. “We won’t know where it lands until the fall, but that seems to be going well.”
VCU’s budget for the current FY25 cycle is $1.7 billion. A 1% cut to the university’s operating budget would free up $6.4 million.
What VCU’s FY26 spending plan will look like is still being determined, and will depend on the state’s budget, which was still in the works and not yet finalized as of the board’s budget briefing on Friday.
The university is planning for at least $16.1 million in state funding support, including $8.1 million for the military-family waivers program and $8 million for the state-mandated, 3% salary hikes. It anticipates a one-time infusion of $10.8 million from the state for operating support in FY26.
Also at last week’s meeting, the board approved appointments to the body’s leadership posts.
Ellen Fitzsimmons was elected to serve as rector of the board. As rector, she will lead the 16-member body that governs the university and sets its annual budget.
Fitzsimmons is former chief legal officer and head of public affairs at Truist Financial Corp. She was appointed to the VCU board by Gov. Glenn Youngkin in 2022.
Steven DeLuca was tapped to serve as the board’s vice rector. The Capital One vice president and head of state and local government affairs was appointed to the board by Youngkin in 2023.
Fitzsimmons and DeLuca will assume their leadership roles on the board July 1 and serve two-year terms.
Currently, the board’s rector is Todd Haymore, who is chief of Hunton Andrews Kurth’s global economic development, government relations and commerce group. The board’s vice rector is Andy Florance, CEO and founder of real estate data firm CoStar Group.
This story is for our paid subscribers only. Please become one of the thousands of BizSense Pro readers today!
Your subscription has expired. Renew now by choosing a subscription below!
For more informaiton, head over to your profile.
SUBSCRIBE NOW
TERMS OF SERVICE:
ALL MEMBERSHIPS RENEW AUTOMATICALLY. YOU WILL BE CHARGED FOR A 1 YEAR MEMBERSHIP RENEWAL AT THE RATE IN EFFECT AT THAT TIME UNLESS YOU CANCEL YOUR MEMBERSHIP BY LOGGING IN OR BY CONTACTING SUPPORT@BUSINESSDEN.COM.
ALL CHARGES FOR MONTHLY OR ANNUAL MEMBERSHIPS ARE NONREFUNDABLE.
EACH MEMBERSHIP WILL ONLY FUNCTION ON UP TO 3 MACHINES. ACCOUNTS ABUSING THAT LIMIT WILL BE DISCONTINUED.
FOR ASSISTANCE WITH YOUR MEMBERSHIP PLEASE EMAIL SUPPORT@BUSINESSDEN.COM
Already a Member? Sign in
Return to Homepage
What’s not mentioned is the savings that will result in the elimination of the DEI department.
Because there is no savings. More than likely organizations will see where less commitment to diversity leads to more group think.
Any savings will be offset by the employment of unqualified applicants because they fit a certain stereotype.
Haven’t they recently been making a lot of real estate purchases near the campus? For example, $4.6M for the Rite Aid building at Broad and Belvedere. raising tuition shouldn’t even be on the table to fund this sort of expansion.
Jen, those purchases are being made by the private VCU Real Estate Foundation (REF). Public funds are not used by the university until later when properties transfer from the REF to the university. The REF allows the University to acquire properties faster than the public university could act, so they say.
The Foundation is a 501C3 non-profit, tax-exempt organization. taxpayers are paying one way or another.
Well that’s a convenient shell game they’re playing — “Oh these donations aren’t for VCU they’re for VCU real estate…totally different.” VCU has the second largest endowment in the state. I stand by my stance that when they’re this flush with cash, whether its the REF or VCU itself, they shouldn’t be passing their budget shortfalls on to students.
I completely agree with you on college costs being passed along to students unnecessarily . However, that has just as much to do with the Governor and General Assembly not continuing to provide the same level of support the past 25-40 years.
I don’t think the real estate is the issue, I think the program growth is. But I agree with you that VCU should aim to decrease tuition, not increase it.
Schools like VCU should strive to have a tuition level that can be paid for, or substantially defrayed, by summer jobs, which was the case often in the 70s.
Don’t forget a new basketball coach.