VCU is considering a tuition and fees increase as part of the university’s upcoming fiscal year 2024 budget. (BizSense file)
Faced with increased costs and inflation, VCU is looking to its students to help close the gap for the upcoming fiscal year.
Alongside a potential tuition increase of between 3 and 5 percent, the university is also considering a 6 percent increase to the mandatory fees students pay. Both undergraduate and graduate students would be affected by the proposed hikes to tuition and fees in the upcoming 2023-2024 academic year.
Per the proposal, an in-state undergraduate enrolled in 15 credits per semester would see annual tuition and fees rise to at least $16,210 and as much as $16,470. In-state undergraduate students currently pay $15,642 in annual tuition and fees.
Undergraduate students from out of state would pay $38,794 to $39,462 in annual tuition and fees, depending on the increase.
The 6 percent increase to mandatory fees translates to $190 added onto students’ tabs. Mandatory fees include things like support for sports facilities and athletics, technology and health services.
The Board of Visitors is slated to consider action on the tuition increase proposal and fiscal year 2024 budget approval in May. The university announced the potential increases last week.
A university spokesman said the tuition and fees increase is being considered as a means to help address $59.8 million in new expenses the university needs to accommodate in its fiscal year 2024 budget.
A 5 percent increase to the tuition rate for graduate and undergraduate students is currently projected to generate $17.5 million, according to the spokesman. One percentage point of increase to the graduate and undergraduate tuition rate translates into $3.5 million. Funding reallocations within VCU’s budget and money from the state would also be needed to cover the new expenses.
VCU’s current FY23 budget is $1.5 billion and the university has more than 28,000 students.
“The VCU budget is large but is complex with little flexibility because of the way the funds are designated for a purpose,” VCU CFO Karol Gray said during a Board of Visitors committee meeting Friday. “The current budget pressures are significant.”
The biggest chunk of the nearly $60 million in new expenses comes from $35.8 million in salary increases for VCU faculty and staff (a cost that would be evenly split between VCU funds and anticipated state money). Other costs include $7.5 million in financial aid, $6.3 million in debt and operational needs, $6 million in utility costs and $4.2 million in inflation and contractual expenses, Gray said.
The university anticipates it will include in its budget a state-proposed 7 percent average merit pool raise for faculty and staff. Adjunct faculty would get a 7 percent salary bump as well, according to a university news release.
VCU raised tuition by 3 percent last spring but effectively canceled out the increase for in-state undergraduates with a funding reallocation.
Meanwhile, the university is moving ahead with plans for a $415 million VCU Dentistry Center, which would replace the School of Dentistry’s Lyons Dental Building and Dental Building 1 on the nearby MCV Campus. That 314,000-square-foot project would take shape on a 3-acre site at 500 N. 10th St., which until recently had been planned for a private development with VCU Health signed on as a master tenant.
VCU is considering a tuition and fees increase as part of the university’s upcoming fiscal year 2024 budget. (BizSense file)
Faced with increased costs and inflation, VCU is looking to its students to help close the gap for the upcoming fiscal year.
Alongside a potential tuition increase of between 3 and 5 percent, the university is also considering a 6 percent increase to the mandatory fees students pay. Both undergraduate and graduate students would be affected by the proposed hikes to tuition and fees in the upcoming 2023-2024 academic year.
Per the proposal, an in-state undergraduate enrolled in 15 credits per semester would see annual tuition and fees rise to at least $16,210 and as much as $16,470. In-state undergraduate students currently pay $15,642 in annual tuition and fees.
Undergraduate students from out of state would pay $38,794 to $39,462 in annual tuition and fees, depending on the increase.
The 6 percent increase to mandatory fees translates to $190 added onto students’ tabs. Mandatory fees include things like support for sports facilities and athletics, technology and health services.
The Board of Visitors is slated to consider action on the tuition increase proposal and fiscal year 2024 budget approval in May. The university announced the potential increases last week.
A university spokesman said the tuition and fees increase is being considered as a means to help address $59.8 million in new expenses the university needs to accommodate in its fiscal year 2024 budget.
A 5 percent increase to the tuition rate for graduate and undergraduate students is currently projected to generate $17.5 million, according to the spokesman. One percentage point of increase to the graduate and undergraduate tuition rate translates into $3.5 million. Funding reallocations within VCU’s budget and money from the state would also be needed to cover the new expenses.
VCU’s current FY23 budget is $1.5 billion and the university has more than 28,000 students.
“The VCU budget is large but is complex with little flexibility because of the way the funds are designated for a purpose,” VCU CFO Karol Gray said during a Board of Visitors committee meeting Friday. “The current budget pressures are significant.”
The biggest chunk of the nearly $60 million in new expenses comes from $35.8 million in salary increases for VCU faculty and staff (a cost that would be evenly split between VCU funds and anticipated state money). Other costs include $7.5 million in financial aid, $6.3 million in debt and operational needs, $6 million in utility costs and $4.2 million in inflation and contractual expenses, Gray said.
The university anticipates it will include in its budget a state-proposed 7 percent average merit pool raise for faculty and staff. Adjunct faculty would get a 7 percent salary bump as well, according to a university news release.
VCU raised tuition by 3 percent last spring but effectively canceled out the increase for in-state undergraduates with a funding reallocation.
Meanwhile, the university is moving ahead with plans for a $415 million VCU Dentistry Center, which would replace the School of Dentistry’s Lyons Dental Building and Dental Building 1 on the nearby MCV Campus. That 314,000-square-foot project would take shape on a 3-acre site at 500 N. 10th St., which until recently had been planned for a private development with VCU Health signed on as a master tenant.
About forty years ago I used a credit card to pay a $900.00 tuition bill for a semester at VCU. I remember being very concerned because it was so expensive.
About twenty years ago I used a credit card to pay a $1,800.00 tuition bill for a semester at VCU. I remember being very concerned because it was so expensive.
And what are they doing to address the fact that enrollment has been dropping for the past 4 years? Hoping higher costs attract more students? Or building more buildings.
Rather than focus on cutting overhead, such as administrative costs VCU is going to have students foot the bill. This simply will escalate the drop in enrollment. VCU is already accepting 93% of applicants! Will they have to accept 100%? All this does is discourage students from attending college. This tuition and fee increase will only accelerate the trend.
3-5% is well below inflation, so at least they are getting the hint. College tuition, housing, and medical costs had, for the last several decades been the main drivers of rising costs, well exceeding inflation. I agree with the other commenters, this won’t end well for the concept of higher education. I already advise my mentees to seek instruction outside of the university system; you can learn almost anything for free on YouTube for under $1,000 through self-guided coding academies.
If enrollment is dropping, it makes sense that staff positions should too. VCU should look at administrative positions and see where they can streamline. Foisting the cost of a bloated staff on a dwindling student population seems a fool’s errand.
Who out there in the REAL world received a 7% salary raise? This is in addition to the increased grant monies allocated to most of the faculty. And don’t forget the year long sabbaticals faculty takes advantage of.
What % of the VCU classes are remote? My son goes on campus ONE day a week…..why do they need to keep building and taking up real estate if the classes are remote?