As consumer prices and inflation soar, a public university in Virginia has decided to raise the cost of tuition before the next academic year.
“The Virginia Commonwealth University Board of Visitors voted Friday to set tuition and fees for the 2022-23 academic year. Tuition will increase by 3%, the first tuition increase for undergraduate students since the 2018-19 academic year,” Virginia Commonwealth University (VCU) said in a Friday statement. “The increase is necessary to cover VCU’s share of anticipated salary increases for faculty, staff and adjuncts; to increase student support; and to address the higher costs of maintenance and utilities.”
Mandatory student fees – not included in tuition – will also increase by a total of $146 per student, the school said. Some of that will be used for student technology, health services, academic support services, and library services. The release said that $112 of the $146 increase per student comes in the form of a “university fee,” on which it did not elaborate.
The increase brings the cost of in-state tuition to more than $15,600, and out-of-state tuition to more than $37,500 per year.
“Despite significant and unprecedented challenges, VCU has not raised undergraduate tuition for the past three years,” said VCU President Michael Rao, Ph.D in the statement. “This decision reflects deep and careful consideration of the needs across our community, with a focus on the quality of educational experiences and services. A 3% increase will allow VCU to prioritize the needs of students and continue to support a high-quality educational experience delivered by our deeply committed faculty and staff.”
Reached by The Virginia Star Friday, a school spokesperson declined to comment further.
Thursday, The Richmond Times-Dispatch reported that bungled planning and the soaring cost of construction materials caused a data center construction project on the school’s campus to rise 67 percent.
“The data center, which will house the servers for the university and its health system, will cost $970 per square foot, up from $580 when the board of visitors first approved the building in October,” that report said. “VCU now plans to spend $31 million on the facility, which will be funded using university debt.”
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Pete D’Abrosca is a reporter at The Virginia Star and The Star News Network. Email tips to [email protected].
Photo “Virginia Commonwealth University” by Virginia Commonwealth University.
