THE VIRGINIAN-PILOT
Copyright (c) 1996, Landmark Communications, Inc.
DATE: Wednesday, April 17, 1996 TAG: 9604170369
SECTION: LOCAL PAGE: B8 EDITION: FINAL
SOURCE: BY PHILIP WALZER, STAFF WRITER
DATELINE: NEWPORT NEWS LENGTH: Medium: 92 lines
Saying tuition freezes are not enough to keep college affordable, Christopher Newport University officials Tuesday announced small cuts in tuition, fees, room and board for in-state students.
State officials say only one other university in Virginia's history has cut tuition and fees - Virginia State University, which reduced rates for two straight years, starting in 1990-91. Community colleges reduced their costs in the mid-'80s.
``Tuitions in Virginia are unreasonably high, and freezing tuition is not enough,'' the university's president, Paul S. Trible Jr., said at a Board of Visitors meeting. ``They should be reduced whenever possible. . . . Too many Virginians are struggling to make ends meet and finding it difficult, if not impossible, to get a quality higher education.''
The university is cutting annual tuition and fees for in-state undergraduates by $24, or 0.7 percent - from $3,390 to $3,366. Room and board will drop 2.1 percent, from 4,750 to $4,650. That means the total annual package, for an in-state student living on campus, will drop 1.5 percent, from $8,140 to $8,016.
Tuition and fees for out-of-state undergraduates will remain at $7,986 a year.
To rein in the cost of attending college, the General Assembly and Gov. George F. Allen have approved a tuition freeze for Virginia undergraduates for the next two years. No limit was placed on increases in tuition for out-of-state students or fees.
Last week, Old Dominion University approved an increase of 0.7 percent in the total tuition and fees for in-state undergraduates. Norfolk State University has not yet acted.
At Christopher Newport, the tuition reduction will cost the university $90,000. To make up that amount, Christopher Newport will cut the position of the director of international studies and the director's secretary, for a savings of $115,000. Since the previous director, Keith McLoughland, died last year, no full-time replacement has been named.
University administrators said some departments would take up the workload in international studies, with no decline in offerings. The move, they said, meshes perfectly with the state's push for college ``restructuring.''
The state's education secretary, Beverly H. Sgro, agreed. ``I certainly see this as a marvelous example of restructuring in that it puts taxpayer dollars to students and provides access to more students,'' Sgro said. ``It's exactly what we want people to do.''
At the Campus Center, students didn't mind the tuition cut either. ``I think it's great,'' said Kris VanDeusen, a senior from Newport News. ``As long as it stays the same, it's something I can handle and budget for.''
Robert Mills, a senior from New Kent County, said, ``A lot of people I know can't go to school because it's too expensive. Maybe (with the cut), they can, at some point.''
Christopher Newport's tuition policy has zigzagged in the past decade. In 1994-95, the university was the only one in the state to announce no increase from the 1993-94 level.
But during the past five years, the university has recorded the sharpest increase of any four-year state-supported school, according to data from the State Council of Higher Education. Tuition and fees went up 16 percent in 1991-92 and 25 percent in 1992-93.
Those increases, said William L. Brauer, the university's executive vice president, were needed to make up for a shortage in state funding. At the beginning of the decade, Christopher Newport ranked last among all four-year colleges in state aid for each Virginia student.
But Christopher Newport got a big break in the recently completed legislative session. Its annual funding for education programs will jump 21 percent - the highest increase for any college. With that infusion, Christopher Newport next year will rank 11th out of 15 four-year schools in state aid per Virginia student, Trible told the board.
The General Assembly session was the latest victory in Christopher Newport's attempt to improve its image beyond a commuter school on the Peninsula. The school won university status in 1992 and opened its first dormitory, with 430 beds, in 1994.
Even so, enrollment has stagnated in recent years, while other local universities, such as Old Dominion and Norfolk State, have experienced growth. Christopher Newport has less than 5,000 students; about 8 percent are from South Hampton Roads.
Brauer wouldn't predict whether the tuition drop would attract more students - including those from the Southside - to Christopher Newport. ``It's a start in the right direction,'' he said. ``Whether that one simple act will turn that around is unknown.'' ILLUSTRATION: Photo
University President Paul S. Trible Jr. said tuition freezes are not
enough.
KEYWORDS: TUITION DECREASE CUT by CNB