Generous State Budget Investment in Higher Ed Allows UVA to Lower Tuition Rates for In-State Students

The University of Virginia announced today that tuition for continuing in-state students has been revised downward to a 1.5 percent increase – a 50 percent reduction from the previously stated amount for the 2016-17 academic year.

The in-state tuition relief is a direct result of significant new funding for higher education included in the state budget for the next biennium. The new funds include more than $3 million in the first year of the biennium specifically earmarked to improve access, affordability, quality and increased degrees at UVA.

“Because of this legislative action aimed at reducing higher education costs, which Governor Terry McAuliffe has endorsed, we are pleased to provide Virginia students with a lower cost of attendance than anticipated for the coming academic year,” UVA President Teresa A. Sullivan said. “The University appreciates the General Assembly’s investment, which advances our efforts to sustain the excellence of a UVA education while enhancing its affordability and extraordinary value.”

The University’s Board of Visitors in February adopted a tuition schedule for the coming year that increased in-state and out-of-state tuition by an average of 3 percent for continuing undergraduate students – one of the lowest increases in recent history. The approved increase already was lower than anticipated in the University’s long-term financial plan due to cost efficiencies implemented across Grounds.

The board stipulated that it would revisit in-state tuition if UVA’s 2016-17 unrestricted state appropriation increased beyond the assumptions in the University’s multi-year financial plan.

“Fortunately, the state budget includes funding for UVA beyond our initial projections,” Rector William H. Goodwin Jr. said. “This significant and welcomed action from the legislature provides an even greater benefit to Virginia families.”

UVA remains on track to meet its goal of increasing enrollment. In 2011, the Board of Visitors approved the addition of 1,673 undergraduate students through the 2018-19 academic year.  The total includes 1,400 students attributable to new growth, and 273 from a plan approved in 2005.

The enrollment growth emphasizes additional access for Virginians and aligns with a state objective for Virginia colleges and universities to produce 100,000 more degrees. The target of 1,673 new students represents an 11.9 percent increase in undergraduate enrollment since 2010-11. Of these, 70 percent, or 1,171, will be Virginia residents. UVA will continue to augment its faculty to accommodate the growth in its student body.

Besides reducing the previously approved in-state tuition increase from 3 percent to 1.5 percent, the added state investment will help fund new strategic initiatives, not previously budgeted for, that:

• Increase awareness of the UVA admission process and financial aid programs for prospective students and their families in school districts across the commonwealth. This includes expanded educational outreach for underserved, college-bound populations, particularly students who will be the first in their families to attend college. It also includes efforts to better inform students as early as the 10^th grade on issues related to access, affordability, student support and academic life in college;
• Advance curricular enhancements that further bolster academic quality, including emphasis on foundational writing skills that better prepare undergraduates for more rigorous coursework across disciplines; and
• Propel even more meaningful student experiences through greater integration of coursework with student internships, fieldwork and service initiatives.

“The additional state funding provides us significant new opportunities to target investments in the quality of a UVA education,” Executive Vice President and Provost Tom Katsouleas said. “This is an exciting time for higher education and students in the commonwealth. Investments made today in access and quality will pay off for all Virginians.”