ROANOKE TIMES
Copyright (c) 1996, Roanoke Times
DATE: Saturday, October 26, 1996 TAG: 9610280042
SECTION: VIRGINIA PAGE: C-1 EDITION: METRO
SOURCE: PHILIP WALZER LANDMARK NEWS SERVICE
Parents of Virginia children can lock in four years of a college education at a state school for less than $17,000 - even if their children won't be freshmen until 2014.
The prices for the first sign-up period in the state's new prepaid tuition plan were set this week in Richmond by the board of the Virginia Higher Education Tuition Trust Fund. Parents may sign up from Dec. 2 to Feb.28.
The program offers a variety of payment plans to cover everything from five years at a four-year state-supported college to one year at a community college. The prices cover tuition and fees, but not room and board. Parents can pay a lump sum or can make monthly payments that might stretch out more than 17 years.
The program was approved in 1994 by Gov. George Allen and the General Assembly to offer parents a way to avoid skyrocketing tuition.
A lump-sum payment for a four-year education will run from $14,660 for children less than 1 year old to $16,699 for ninth-graders. Students who have already completed ninth grade are not eligible.
One year at a four-year school will cost from $3,716 for an infant to $4,233 for a ninth-grader. The range for one year at a community college will go from $1,283 to $1,462.
The monthly plans are as low as $12 a month for one year of community college for an infant and $33 a month for one year at a four-year college.
The payments for four-year schools would apply at any state-supported four-year school in Virginia - as long as the student gets admitted into the school.
Even at the highest ends of the ranges, parents would not be paying much more than they would if their children were now in college. The annual tuition-and-fee average at Virginia's four-year state-supported colleges is $4,000. Room and board averages an additional $4,384.
``You are locking in tomorrow's tuition at today's prices,'' Diana Cantor, executive director of the program, said. ``You're replacing uncertainty with certainty.''
In the early '90s, colleges approved double-digit annual increases in charges to offset state budget cuts. Earlier this year, Allen and the legislators enacted a two-year tuition freeze for in-state undergraduates. But Virginia still remains among the 10 states with the most expensive college charges.
In the program, the state will invest the payments and guarantee that they will cover the students' tuition and fees at the time of enrollment - no matter how much or little the state makes on the money or how high tuition rises in the interim.
The prices in the pre-paid tuition program will change annually, reflecting fluctuations in tuition rates and the economy. The second sign-up period is scheduled to be next fall, Cantor said.
Cantor said the program offers security. ``You've locked it in; you don't have to worry about it,'' she said, referring to tuition and fees. Cantor also said parents can use other investments to pay for the remaining portions of a college education, such as room and board and books.
Cantor - who is married to Del. Eric Cantor, R-Henrico County - plans to be one of the investors. She has three children - Evan, 5; Jenna, 3; and Michael, 2. But she's not sure which payment plan she'll use.
``We haven't gotten that far yet,'' she said, ``but I'm certainly going to look at whatever I can.''
Those interested in the plan can phone (888)567-0540, a toll-free call. Leave your name and number, and you will be sent information and a contract. The sign-up period is Dec. 2 to Feb. 28.
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