MORGANTOWN — The WVU Board of Governors passed tuition and fee increases on Friday that will bump the annual cost of attending the university up by $520 for in-state students and $768 for out-of-state attendees.
Those numbers represent tuition increases of 1.36 percent and 1.44 percent, respectively, and roughly 3 percent increases in the cost of both housing and meal plans.
WVU Vice President of Finance and Chief Financial Officer Paula Congelio said the increases are the smallest proposed in two decades, noting the last sub 2 percent tuition increase came in 2010.
With the raises in place, the cost to attend WVU’s Morgantown campus will jump from $8,856 to $8,976 for in-state students and from $24,960 to $25,320 for out-of-state students.
Tuition for the WVU Institute of Technology, in Beckley, will rise from $7,464 to $7,560 (in state) and $18,648 to $18,912 (out of state).
WVU Potomac State College, in Keyser, will see tuition increase from $4,488 to $4,536 (in state), from $11,376 to $11,544 (out of state) and from $7,200 to $7,296 for metro students.
“We made a determination that we would keep our tuition increases very modest and we have committed to keeping them modest over the next three or four years,” WVU President Gordon Gee said.
The one exception in regard to tuition increases is specific to the nursing program at the WVU Institute of Technology, which will increase by 8.25 percent (in state) and 28.09 percent (out of state).
“We’re one university and we’re bringing our tuition in line across the institution, and nursing at Beckley was historically very low,” Gee said, later adding “It’s about equalizing our costs across the campuses.”
It was explained that along with the tuition increases, the university also plans to raise the amount of financial aid on offer by about 4 percent.
In order to balance the university’s projected budget and keep tuition increases modest, the university will look to remove roughly $14.8 million in expenses, Congelio said.
Attrition in staffing will be one part of that push. Congelio said those efforts will include not filling current openings and offering certain employees “voluntary separation plans.”
“We’ve had a structural deficit over a period of time that we’ve slowly whittled down,” Gee said. “The goal is not about the $14.8 million, it’s about putting ourselves in a position where we don’t constantly have to reengage in the structural deficits, but will really be able to move forward.”
Gee said the university will continue to invest in its major programs.
“This is not about budgetary decision that is negative so much as it is a decision to continue to position ourselves,” he said. “The overall budget of the university is about $4.5 billion with the academic medical center, so that requires a lot of positioning.”
WVU is anticipating an increase in state appropriations of about $3.4 million for the coming fiscal year.
According to Congelio, the university is also expecting a slight increase in the size of the incoming freshman class, from 4,688 in 2018 to 4,900.
The tuition and fee increases were approved with one dissenting vote from Student Body President Isaac Obioma.
Tweet @DominionPostWV.
