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January 2005
News
For over a decade, state-supported universities across
the United States have faced declining levels of public
funding. Not even Virginia's venerable public universities
were spared. The 1990s saw unprecedented lows in state
funding for such institutions as the University of Virginia,
the College of William and Mary, and Virginia Tech. In 2004,
for example, the College of William and Mary received only
18 per cent of its operating budget from Richmond, while the
University of Virginia saw only 8 per cent of its budget met
by public funds.
Those two universities, together with Virginia Tech, plan
to introduce the Chartered University Initiative to
legislators in Richmond this month. The legislation would
have the schools give up as much as $15 million in state
funding each year and enroll up to 2,500 additional
students, in exchange for greater control over their own
administration and finances. The universities specifically
ask for greater freedom in setting tuition rates and in
making personnel and procurement policy.
Critics worry that the legislation, if passed, would
amount to a license for universities to hike tuition rates
and to slash faculty and staff salaries and benefits. Such
moves could, they charge, make public university education
unaffordable for the neediest students, and erode the
quality of teaching and research. University officials
counter that this kind of autonomy is the only way that the
public universities will be able to maintain competitive
standards in an era of unstable funding.
Views
The proposed Chartered Universities Initiative is not a
completely surprising development. Virginia's law and
business schools had already taken a similar step toward
financial and administrative independence. The question of
tuition rate increases is also probably not as cut-and-dried
as it seems. True, university officials say that tuition can
be expected to rise by approximately 8 to 10 per cent per
year for the first five years of the plan (offset, they
expect, by greater levels of financial aid). However,
tuition at Virginia's public universities has already gone
up significantly in recent years, and there is no reason to
expect that further hikes could be put off indefinitely.
Indeed, Virginia Tech, in a press release, points out that
further tuition hikes are likely "under any scenario" -- in
other words, whether the universities gain greater autonomy
or not.
From a prospective student's point of view, public
institutions like the University of Virginia, the College of
William and Mary, and Virginia Tech remain good educational
values. They are well-established institutions that bring
together accomplished scholars and researchers, and they
pursue a proud tradition of teaching and of pursuing
knowledge in the public interest. In-state tuition remains a
good value compared to the cost of private institutions.
That said, it seems clear that the financial cost of
accessing these institutions is bound to continue rising
over the coming years. Prudent students (and their parents)
will take this as a sign to redouble their efforts to save
and invest money for future educational needs, and to learn
about their options for educational assistance and loans.
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