Community college board hikes tuition

The state's community colleges will increase tuition for next semester, and Virginia Commonwealth University plans to eliminate 91 jobs as the schools attempt to absorb multiple cuts in their budgets.

The unusual, midyear tuition increase approved yesterday by the State Board for Community Colleges will add about $22 to the cost of a class and generate $10.7 million in revenue. That's enough to offset about 42 percent of what the system is losing from the state this fiscal year.

The VCU board of visitors in its meeting yesterday also discussed the possibility of an increase for the spring semester, although Rector Anne G. "Panny" Rhodes said she thought that was unlikely.

But VCU board members said a significant increase in tuition will be needed next year to make up for state budget cuts that threaten the university's mission.

"I don't believe in my heart," VCU President Michael Rao said, that most people "grasp the true gravity of the situation we face."

Rao said the university has run out of creative efficiency measures that have been used to cut the fat. "I think we're beginning to amputate from this institution," he said.

John M. Bennett, VCU's senior vice president for finance, gave the board a dire overview of the university's finances when federal stimulus funds that have offset state budget cuts end after fiscal 2011.

Adjustments to the university's spending await final decisions on the state budget when the General Assembly convenes in January.

Gov. Timothy M. Kaine already has cut $6 billion from the state budget since April 2007 to deal with declining revenue. He is expected to propose at least an additional $1 billion in reductions.

Bennett said VCU expects to receive $25.3 million less in state support for the current 2010 fiscal year than it did in 2000, and from 2008 through 2012, the loss is expected to total $66.5 million.

He said 37 instructional faculty positions will be among 91 positions lost during the next two years through layoffs or attrition. VCU also plans to revise its tuition policies to eliminate "a free zone" that charges students the same price whether they're taking 12 credit hours or 18.

The university generally sets tuition for the next academic year at its May meeting, but board member Thomas G. Rosenthal urged an earlier decision out of fairness to students.

Rosenthal said he doesn't think the university can continue to meet its mission "without a significant tuition increase."

Other members suggested exploring the option of an increase for next semester.

"Shouldn't we look at options for the second semester?" Maurice A. Jones asked. Thomas G. Snead Jr., the vice rector, agreed, saying the board needed to look for solutions under every rock and the spring semester could be "the first rock."

Rhodes said later she did not think many members of the board would agree to a midyear boost.

But the board is looking at all its options because "our backs are against the wall," she said.

The loss of additional faculty members would erode the student-faculty ratio further, Bennett said.

VCU's enrollment, which stands at 32,436 in the most recent count, has grown by 8,955 since 2000, a 38 percent increase. The student-faculty ratio has risen as well, from 13 to 1 to 18 to 1 during that period.

Classes already are filled to the maximum allowed by the state fire marshal, VCU Provost Stephen D. Gottfredson said.

The community college board also pointed to enrollment growth for its actions yesterday.

State Board Chairman Gary Hancock said community college growth during the past two years is bigger than the undergraduate enrollment at VCU, which last fall was about 22,790 students.

"Or to put it another way, it would be equal to adding together the total enrollments of Christopher Newport University, Longwood University, the University of Mary Washington, the Virginia Military Institute and Virginia State University," he said in a statement.

Jeffrey J. Kraus, the system's assistant vice chancellor for public relations, said a preliminary count for the fall semester shows an enrollment of 107,649 full-time equivalent students at the system's 23 colleges. That's an increase of more than 11,650.

The spring tuition increase of $7.30 per credit hour will bring the cost to $94.03 per credit hour, he said. The midyear tuition increase is the first in eight years.

"It's a tough place to be in, having this many people coming through the doors and finding ways to serve them," he said.

Karin Kapsidelis is a staff writer at the Richmond Times-Dispatch.