Following a request from Governor Youngkin’s office, more schools have joined Virginia Tech University in freezing tuition rates for the fall.
As previously reported, in an attempt to lower the cost of higher education in Virginia, Governor Youngkin’s administration is urged college presidents in the state to hold off on an expected bump in the cost of tuition. Secretary of Education Aimee Guidera many of them personally throughout the state, asking them to reconsider the planned tuition hike in the fall, and it appears many of the schools have obliged.
In a press release Friday, the Office of Governor Glenn Youngkin announced that there are at least ten state colleges that will flatten tuition costs for in-state undergraduates this fall. According to ABC, Virginia Tech started the trend when it froze tuition levels back in June, with The College of William & Mary, Norfolk State University, and Virginia State University following shortly after. Virginia Commonwealth University, James Madison University, Virginia Military Institute, the University of Mary Washington, Longwood University and Old Dominion University joined the list within the last week.
But not every university agreed to the governor’s request. The University of Virginia said no to freezing tuition levels.
“The University Board of Visitors set tuition rates for the coming academic year in December, after an extensive analysis of current economic conditions and University needs, as well as a well-advertised public comment session,” UVA Spokesperson Brian Coy said. “Those rates will remain in place.”
Coy says the subcommittee that made the tuition decision will reconvene in the near future to investigate options about future tuition strategies in line with economic conditions. The date for that meeting has not yet been set.
The Governor’s office said that some colleges are undecided, like George Mason University, which is reevaluating later this year, and others like Radford University, Christopher Newport University, and the University of Virginia’s College at Wise, all of which did not comment or did not have information to provide. They also reported that the schools that have frozen tuition are expecting an increase next year, but Youngkin said he won’t worry about that until next year and that he understands inflation has hit colleges, too.