Spectrum - Volume 18 Issue 21 February 22, 1996 - Univerity holds line on tuition

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including The Conductor , a special section of the Spectrum printed 4 times a year

Univerity holds line on tuition

By David Nutter

Spectrum Volume 18 Issue 21 - February 22, 1996

Because of the strong show of support for higher education as approved in budget proposals passed by committees of the Virginia General Assembly this weekend, the Virginia Tech Board of Visitors on Monday approved a resolution calling for no increase in tuition for the undergraduate or graduate students for the 1996-97 academic year.

"Everyone in higher education has been deeply troubled about the rising cost of a college education," said President Paul Torgersen. "Budget bills approved by the finance committees of the General Assembly appear to indicate that legislators have heard our needs and have responded accordingly. We are grateful for their efforts."

The board did approve an increase in its comprehensive fee and room-and-board charges for the coming year. The comprehensive fee, which is a mandatory fee all full-time undergraduate and graduate students pay, will increase $44. The fee covers the cost of access to the university bus system, admittance to athletic events, health service, and access to recreational-sports facilities. The increase in the comprehensive fee is fueled by rises in the health-service and recreational-service fees. The fee for health service will rise for the first time since the 1993-94 school year. The recreational-fee increase will cover the beginning phase of the debt service on the new student health-and-fitness center.

Tuition for in-state undergraduates will remain at $3,500 a year. With the addition of the comprehensive fee, costs for attending Virginia Tech for the 1996-97 school year will rise for in-state undergraduates from the current $4,087 to $4,131.

Tuition for nonresident undergraduates will remain at $10,152. With the addition of the comprehensive fee, costs for attending Virginia Tech for the coming school year for nonresident undergraduates will rise from current $10,739 to $10,789.

Room and board costs will also be rising this coming year. The university is proposing a $54 or 3-percent increase in the board charges; final cost will be based on the type of meal plan students purchase.

Room costs will rise $76 or 5.7 percent to cover additional wages and related fringe benefits, other operating cost increases, and the partial implementation of new initiatives to improve services to students. Cost of housing in university residence halls varies by location, but cost for the coming year for undergraduate housing will range from $1,306 to $1,868.

Students at the Virginia-Maryland Regional College of Veterinary Medicine will see their tuition remain the same at $7,620 for the coming academic year.