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Governor Glenn Youngkin is encouraging colleges and universities in Virginia from increasing their tuition for undergraduate students.
Most colleges and universities froze tuition prices for undergraduate students during the pandemic, but that is winding to an end at some institutions as UVA recently announced a tuition increase for the 2022 and 2023 school years.
Virginia Tech increased their tuition this year after two years of a freeze for in-state students.
VCU froze their tuition for the current year, but has not announced any new decision for next year.
William & Mary froze their tuition rate four years straight and the governor praised the university during a speech at their campus recently.
“I strongly urge our college and university boards to show restraint in tuition increases just as you have been doing during the pandemic,” Youngkin said during a recent visit at William and Mary College in Williamsburg. “There are ways to grow universities without growing tuition.”
In a statement provided to Virginia Scope, Youngkin explained why this is an important issue to him. “Education and a basketball scholarship opened doors for me. I want every Virginian to have access to an affordable and quality education that prepares them for success in life,” the governor said. “To do this, our colleges and universities must be more creative in finding alternative sources of revenue and innovative ways to collaborate and provide a quality education without increasing tuition and fees.”
The General Assembly provided money to keep public colleges and universities from tuition increases in 2020. A budget amendment has been proposed by Del. David Reid for another freeze this year but it is unclear if it will be included.
“If we are not careful, we will price first-generation students and those that come from low-income homes out of the market,” Youngkin said during his speech at W&M. “And we can’t do that, because of the transformative impact a college degree has on the life of Virginians.”
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