University tuition

KATRINA LEE News Editor

CU ADMINISTRATION RECENTLY presented a range of tuition increases for 2023 between 3% and 6% for undergraduate and graduate students, following a three-year freeze on tuition.

The proposed tuition increase is based on a state-mandated 5% salary increase for university faculty and for supplemental funding towards the financial aid budget for undergraduate students. The range of increase is dependent on funding the university will receive from the state, which has yet to be approved, according to VCU’s Chief Financial Officer Karol Gray.

“If the state gives us more we could lower tuition increases. If they don’t, then we’re going to have to manage a shortfall on our budget. And we’ll do that,” Gray said.

The budget recommendations include an increase of $145, or 4.8% in mandatory fees, according to the VCU Annual Tuition and Budget Student Forum presentation on March 3. The changes include a $112 increase in the university fee, a $15 increase in the technology fee, a $5 increase in the health service fee, a $5 increase in the academic support services fee and a $4 increase in the library fee.

The university fee, which will increase the most, funds the University Student Commons, recreational sports, academic advising, career services, University Student Counseling and student athlete services, according to a previous report by The Commonwealth Times.

“The university’s very mission-based and very sensitive to putting tuition increases on our students, but we’re in a financial position that we have to retain our faculty,” Gray said.

Gray said faculty members at VCU are underpaid compared to other universities.

The average employee salary in 2020 was $94,907, according to OpenPayrolls. The average salary for professors at VCU is between $79,000 and $180,000, according to Glassdoor.

a whole lot leftover if you’re making $90,000 a year. So that seems like a lot of money, but the reality is, that just doesn’t go very far for a family of four in Richmond.”

Wintersieck said the publicly available data on the internet of the average salary of university employees is not “transparent,” as she said it only shows data for those who make more than $50,000 a year. There are thousands of employees at VCU who make below the cost of living, according to Wintersieck.

“This is an issue of equity,” Wintersieck said. “There are a lot of people who worked for VCU, and they work hard for VCU. They’re putting in nights and weekends. I’m sure you’ve talked to your financial aid advisor on a Sunday, that is outside the scope of their job. And they are doing that for poverty wages.”

Wintersieck said, ideally, she wishes the university never has to touch student tuition, but that is the “path of least resistance” for meeting the 5% state salary requirement.