Virginia State University Board approves tuition, fee increase #BuzzKiller

Virginia State University’s Board of Visitors has approved tuition and fee increases for the 2011-12 academic year. Tuition and mandatory fees for in-state, undergraduate students will be $7,090, up 7.9 percent from last year. The corresponding cost for non-resident, undergraduates will be $15,988, a 5.6 percent increase. In fiscal year 2011, VSU’s tuition and fees were the second lowest among Virginia’s 15 senior, public institutions of higher education.

Basic room and board rates for all students increase by $728, or 8.9 percent. The total cost of attending VSU in 2011-2012 will be $15,970 for in-state, undergraduates (including room and board) and $24,868 for non-resident undergraduates. The total cost for graduate students residing on campus is $17,254 for in-state and $25,822 for non-resident. Vice President for Administration and Finance David Meadows said this year’s tuition and fee increases were impacted by a continued loss of state funds, as well as a need to continue to provide improvements in the areas of technology infrastructure, academic faculty and recruitment processes. Meadows noted that “the University was able to minimize tuition and fee increases through a collective effort to reduce expenses and improve operational efficiencies.”

Continuing a policy established several years ago, a portion of the tuition paid by students will continue to be set aside to provide financial assistance.