THE VIRGINIAN-PILOT
Copyright (c) 1996, Landmark Communications, Inc.
DATE: Tuesday, February 20, 1996 TAG: 9602200265
SECTION: LOCAL PAGE: B1 EDITION: FINAL
SOURCE: BY PHILIP WALZER, STAFF WRITER
LENGTH: Long : 105 lines
From Gov. Allen: Enacting contracts
limiting annual tuition increases to the rate
of inflation through 2000-2001.
From the House: Freezing tuition
for the next two school years.
From the Senate: Freezing tuition
for the next year and allowing
for ``modest increases'' in 1997-98.
College students would give up long-term security for short-term comfort under legislators' revisions of Gov. George F. Allen's 1996-98 budget plan.
The money committees of both houses Sunday killed Allen's plan to require ``tuition contracts,'' limiting annual increases to the rate of inflation. The contracts, which would have extended into the next five years, were considered among the most far-reaching efforts in any state to curb tuition costs.
Instead, the House and Senate proposed pumping about $100 million more in state aid to the colleges over the next two years. As a result, legislators said, the colleges won't need to raise tuition at all next year.
Both the Senate Finance and House Appropriations committees proposed freezing tuition rates in the 1996-97 school year.
The House plan would continue the freeze for the 1997-98 year; the Senate would endorse continuing the freeze, but would allow unspecified ``modest increases'' if colleges demonstrated a need.
Neither of the legislative proposals would set curbs on tuition beyond 1997-98. All three plans would cover only Virginia undergraduates.
Students, who are paying among the highest rates in the country, on Monday faced a Solomonic dilemma of the sort that confronts homebuyers: Would they prefer a two-year freeze or a longer-range lock-in at slightly higher rates?
At Old Dominion University, junior Phil Hughes and sophomore Collin Smythe argued the merits of each side. ``For two years, students are going to get a good deal,'' Smythe said of the General Assembly proposals.
``But they're going to pay for it in three years,'' said Hughes, who preferred Allen's idea. ``. . . I can see it jumping it up the first chance they get.''
Others saw loopholes in both the Senate and governor's proposals. ``The big question is: What is a `modest increase'?'' junior Darren Musico said of the Senate version. ``If a `modest increase' is 10 percent, the governor's proposal is better.''
Yet Brad Dunsmore, another junior, noted that Allen pegs his plan to the inflation rate, now under 3 percent: ``That's a variable rate. If inflation jumps, it'll be no different than the Senate.''
For student leaders, though, the choice was easier.
The House, in its proposal, cited a report issued last week by a coalition of 16 student body presidents in Virginia arguing against Allen's plan. ``The contract,'' the students wrote, ``does not provide a (financial) commitment from the State Government, which is necessary to sustain the commitment it wishes to mandate upon the schools.''
The debate, and the competing proposals, reflect the growing political and public concern with escalating tuition. In the early '90s, Gov. L. Douglas Wilder and the General Assembly authorized sharp tuition increases to help colleges counteract 20 percent budget cuts in state aid. As a result, college costs in Virginia shot up.
The average for tuition and fees at Virginia doctoral universities, such as ODU and Virginia Tech, ranks as the eighth highest in the country. For other four-year schools, such as Norfolk State and Christopher Newport universities, the state average is second, behind only Vermont.
Sen. Stanley C. Walker, D-Norfolk, co-chairman of the Senate Finance Committee, said Monday that the best way to avoid further tuition increases is not a long-term contract, but a commitment to channel more state aid to colleges to avoid a replay of the early '90s.
``If I were a student, I'd be very pleased about this budget,'' he said of the Senate plan. ``You're heading in a direction where you're putting more money into the schools, and when you put more money in the schools, you don't have to depend on tuition increases.''
College administrators were also breathing easier Monday.
``In the grand scheme of things, it's better than the long-term contracts,'' said William L. Brauer, executive vice president at Christopher Newport, ``. . . because it can be revisited each (General Assembly) session. The question of appropriate (state) funding could be looked at at the same time.''
Even Allen wasn't complaining about the fate of his contracts. In a news conference Monday, he described the legislators' plan to hold tuition steady as ``wonderful. The freeze is good.''
Local colleges also would get a financial boost in the House and Senate budget plans.
The big winner would be Tidewater Community College, which would receive an additional $2.5 million in the Senate - or $2 million in the House - to hire faculty and staff members for its Norfolk campus.
The Senate would also allot nearly $500,000 for equipment for the campus, which is expected to open early next year.
In addition, both sides would funnel money to Old Dominion and Norfolk State universities to address funding disparities. Both schools have argued that they are getting less state aid per student than most of their counterparts.
The Senate would give ODU an extra $1 million and Norfolk State $800,000. The House would offer $500,000 each to ODU and Norfolk State. MEMO: Staff writer Warren Fiske contributed to this story. by CNB