Roanoke Times
Copyright (c) 1995, Landmark Communications, Inc.
DATE: WEDNESDAY, March 6, 1991 TAG: 9103060328
SECTION: CURRENT PAGE: NRV-1 EDITION: NEW RIVER VALLEY
SOURCE: MADELYN ROSENBERG/ HIGHER EDUCATION WRITER
DATELINE: LENGTH: Medium
Most state-supported schools - including community colleges - won't be setting new tuition rates until later this month or next month. But college officials say that significantly higher charges are in the works - and that still won't be enough to combat state budget cuts.
"I'm going to propose that tuition be increased to the full permissible level," Radford University President Donald Dedmon said at a board of visitors meeting Tuesday. "But it won't be enough. Where do we raise the rest of the money?"
Dedmon said he wanted to take a "middle-of-the-road" approach to making cuts this year, in hopes that the economy will turn around and state budget cuts are reversed.
The Radford visitors voted in April 1989 to raise tuition for out-of-state students. In November 1990, the board increased tuition by $122 for in-state students and another $366 for out-of-state students.
Dedmon did not recommend an amount of increase for the 1991-92 academic year, but said he should have one by the board's May meeting.
Dedmon said he hopes to avoid charging out-of-state students the full cost of their education, as some other colleges are doing.
"I'm a little weary of over-taxing our out-of-state students," he said. "They're important to our enrollment." This year, 13 percent of Radford's 9,000 students are from other states, an increase over the past few years.
The state budget the General Assembly passed last month authorizes colleges to levy $43 million in tuition increases during the 1991-92 academic year to make up for state budget cuts. That could translate into double-digit percentages of tuition increases for the first time in several years.
"A number of schools are probably going to have to assume the worst and go about raising a significant amount in tuition," said R. Dan Hix, a tuition expert at the State Council of Higher Education.
While most in-state tuitions have increased by 5 percent to 7 percent in each of the past two years, this year they'll probably be rising more steeply, Hix said.
At the moment, however, the pending tuition increases remain in the control of Gov. Douglas Wilder, who has not signed the budget approved by state legislators last month.
Wilder's spokeswoman, Laura Dillard, noting he has the power to veto any scheduled increases, said, "I would caution against anybody assuming that anything in the budget is necessarily a done deal."
But Dillard said the college budgets also are making room for more financial aid to help students cope with rising tuitions. "The administration was appreciative of the fact that the presidents, in making their proposal, were sensitive to the governor's concern that the financial needs of students be addressed," she said.
Virginia Tech is authorized to increase tuition by $7.3 million. The Tech Board of Visitors raised tuition twice last year to help avoid layoffs.
The University of Virginia is authorized to raise another $7.5 million to cover budget cuts - at least a 9 percent increase.
Officials at Virginia Military Institute had been guessing in February that it would have to increase tuition and fees by about 9.9 percent in-state and 9.7 out-of-state.
"But when we took a final look at the general fund, we found that it was reduced further than we had anticipated," said spokesman Tom Joynes. "Now we're working on ways to offset that. It could mean a further increase in fees. We hope not, but it may have to be."
Virginia's community college officials also are considering tuition increases, but no decision is expected until next month, said Joy Graham, assistant chancellor for public affairs with the community college system. "Community colleges have that authority, but there has been no decision about what we will do or how much we would raise tuition," she said.
One thing's certain: Non-Virginians attending state schools will be hit hard for the second year in a row. Out-of-state tuition at Virginia's most expensive public schools, such as William and Mary, could top five figures - but still less than some elite private colleges.
Officials at some Virginia public schools, including Old Dominion University in Norfolk, are worried that out-of-state tuitions could be headed high enough to discourage some students from attending. Virginia state colleges already are the costliest in the South and among the priciest in the nation.
Landmark News Service contributed information for this story.
by CNB