W&M to host Oct. 22 public hearing on tuition
Hearing follows Board vote in September to reduce projected increases. Final tuition costs for new in-state undergraduates to be set in November.
The William & Mary Board of Visitors will host a public hearing Oct. 22, 2018 on the university’s budget and finances, including proposed tuition for incoming in-state students. Tuition for continuing in-state, undergraduate students will remain unchanged, consistent with the William & Mary Promise, which provides a four-year tuition guarantee.
The hearing will take place in the Chesapeake Room of the Sadler center, located at 200 Stadium Drive in Williamsburg, Va., from 4:00-5:30 p.m. It will include a presentation by the administration, and also time for comments from the general public. It comes in advance of a November meeting of the W&M Board of Visitors to consider tuition for incoming in-state students.
Section 23.1-307 (D) of the Code of Virginia requires that 30 days prior to approval of each year's tuition and mandatory fees, the Board of Visitors of Virginia's higher education institutions announce the range of increase under consideration and the proposed use of any incremental revenue.
The W&M Board established a practice of setting undergraduate in-state tuition at its November meeting to provide prospective Virginia students and their families advance notice as they consider college options. Consistent with past practice, the Board intends to set the guaranteed tuition rate for incoming in-state freshman and undergraduate transfer students admitted to the university for the 2019-2020 academic year at its Nov. 16, 2018 meeting. In September, the Board voted unanimously to reduce the projected tuition and fee increase the university submits to the state as part of its six-year plan.
For incoming in-state freshman and undergraduate transfer students, the Board will consider tuition increases ranging from 3.0 percent to 5.4 percent, or 0.74 percent and 1.31 percent, respectively, if annualized over four years under the guarantee. Once set, the tuition for the entering in-state class will be guaranteed not to increase again during those students’ four years.
Tuition for all other student groups (out of state undergraduates, graduate, and professional), as well as mandatory fees for all students, will be set by the Board at its April 2019 board meeting. A public hearing session will also occur in the spring prior to this meeting.
Revenue generated from this tuition increase, in combination with other revenues and reallocated funds, will likely be used to address personnel costs, including the university's share of any state-mandated increases in salaries, fringe and health benefit changes, need-based financial aid, and institutional initiatives. The exact uses will be determined in part by budget actions taken by the Governor and General Assembly during the 2019 session.
The November meeting will be held in the Board Room on the third floor of Blow Memorial Hall, located at 262 Richmond Road. More information on the Board meeting will be released next month in accordance with the university’s normal schedule of announcing public meetings.
In addition to participating in the public hearing, members of the public can comment on the proposed tuition range via an online form.