On Friday, Virginia Commonwealth University’s (VCU) Board of
Visitors approved a $920 million operating budget that will tack on a 3.87%
tuition and fee hike. The hike equals out to $368 and yearly total of $9.885
for the “typical” undergraduate.[1]
For VCU schools not fortunate enough to live at home during
their college career, the mean yearly expense for an in-state undergraduate
with a meal plan living in student housing will increase by 2.59%.
Non-resident undergraduates also have the fortune of
incurring a 4.2% tuition and fee increase while master’s students will witness
a 3.95% increase.
What does it say about a school’s board of visitors, and
ultimately the school itself, if it continuously pushes a degree in higher
education further out of reach for many Virginians? What does it say about a
board of visitors which reasons that it’s OKAY for their students to incur more
debt as a matter of course?
In its rush to be Virginia’s hottest university, VCU seems
more than ready to sweep aside some of the principles which have been the
school’s bedrock for many decades: serving Virginian’s of all stripes and
colors.
With seemingly indefinite hikes in tuition and fees would it
be surprising to find that more individuals from economically disadvantaged
communities are choosing to forego a college education, individuals
predominantly located in the city of Richmond?[2]
Opponents may respond that the tuition and fee hikes are
minimal and are not a financial overburden for VCU students. This is however an
easy argument to make when you live in relative affluence. A few extra hundred
dollars here, a few extra hundred dollars there, no big deal!
It is of course big. If nothing else, some kind of pledge by
the board of visitors to put a ceiling on tuition and fee hikes would signal to
VCU’s students and Virginians in general that VCU is truly concerned about the
welfare of its student body. What VCU’s board of visitors has instead indicated
is that VCU is a business, the students are the customers, and either pay or
get out.
Unfortunately, many students may choose the latter.[3]
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