Yearly Tuition Increases at Virginia Colleges Fall to Decade-Low

The following is a release from the Governors office: "As students prepare to return to campus for another year, Governor McDonnell and other higher education leaders today announced that Virginia undergraduates at public colleges and universities in the Commonwealth this fall will experience the lowest tuition and mandatory fee increase in a decade. The announcement comes as the State Council of Higher Education for Virginia (SCHEV) releases its annual report on tuition and fees at public higher education institutions. Joined by members of the General Assembly, students, representatives from the State SCHEV, college presidents and Chairman of the Governor's Commission on Higher Education Reform, Innovation, and Investment Tom Farrell, Governor McDonnell announced that the average tuition increase of 4.1 percent represents a 3.8 percent drop from last year’s increase of 7.9 percent. This year’s low tuition and fee increases were possible due in large part to the continued commitment of reinvestment by Governor Bob McDonnell and the 2012 General Assembly’s allocation of $230 million in additional general fund support to Virginia’s public higher education institutions in the 2012-14 biennium. The Governor and General Assembly’s reinvestment in higher education will help public institutions meet the goals of the ‘Top Jobs’ Virginia Education Opportunity Act of 2011, landmark legislation that calls for an additional 100,000 college graduates by the year 2025."