UVA Board Members Call for Tuition Freeze
Members of the University of Virginia Board of Visitors expressed strong reservations about the tuition increases approved in December and asked for a special meeting with administrators to dig deeper into the university’s finances.
No formal action was taken, but Chief Operating Officer J.J. Davis told Bacon’s Rebellion during a break after the finance committee meeting, “That would be great.” She has held budgetary working sessions with board members in previous years, and she indicated that there would be no problem scheduling another such session in the April-May time frame.
During the finance committee meeting, Davis outlined what she saw as major uncertainties and challenges facing UVA’s administrators as they approached a June deadline for presenting a final budget to the board for approval. The Trump administration has already announced restrictions on university overhead allowed for research grants, potentially cutting research revenues by tens of millions of dollars. She also cited questions about other federal cost-cutting initiatives as well as the “broader economic environment.” Additionally, UVA has to pay a 3% pay raise for employees authorized by the General Assembly and resolve the question of how to handle another budget buster: NCAA directives regarding the compensation of student athletes. “There are more economic headwinds than tailwinds,” she said.
But board members weren’t particularly interested in hearing about outside forces impinging on UVA. Several expressed dissatisfaction with the high-altitude picture they’ve been getting about the University budget, and said they want a closer look at the numbers.
Doug Wetmore initiated the brief conversation toward the end of the finance committee session. He would like a “planning session” so board members could dig into the University’s cost structure, he said. “Related to that is the tuition question. What can we do for students and the families?”
Wetmore described the financial information supplied to the board as “high level and conceptual,” adding, “I’d like to see more detail behind what we see here.”
In its December meeting the Board approved a 3% increase in base tuition for both in-state and out-of-state undergraduates for the 2024-25 and 2025-26 academic years. Board members raised few objections at the time. The political dynamic has changed since then. All 13 of Governor Glenn Youngkin’s board appointees now have received General Assembly confirmation, providing them security from political retaliation by legislators and giving them leeway to be more assertive.
Building a budget needs to be more “collaborative” with the board, said Paul Harris. He didn’t want the board to get to June and have a “train wreck” due to unresolved budget issues. He would like to see cuts in administrative overhead as well as a “freeze” in tuition.
A majority of the board would like to see a flat tuition, added Stephen Long.
Long’s assertion about a board majority came as a surprise to Rector Robert Hardie, who asked how Long had reached that conclusion. Board members are not allowed to converse with more than one other board member at a time without triggering state public-meeting requirements. Youngkin appointees have engaged in the tedious, laborious and inefficient practice of engaging with one another in one-on-one conversations to plan their strategy.
Other board members chimed in after Long, backing the idea of a meeting that would allow them to get a closer look at the numbers and give them more time to discuss the budget than has been available during the regular board meeting. Faculty representative Michael Kennedy joined in as well, saying that many faculty members would like to see more detailed budget numbers as well.
The board passed no formal resolution calling for a follow-up meeting to discuss the budget, but Davis repeatedly nodded in agreement with the board members as they expressed a desire for such a session. She affirmed to Bacon’s Rebellion that it would be routine to have the conversation.
Freezing the tuition would require cutting or reallocating tens of millions of dollars fairly late in a lengthy and bureaucratic budget-setting process, however. A major sticking point could be timing. As Harris advised, taking action sooner rather than later might help avert a train wreck. Davis mentioned a meeting in April or May. Whether that would be early enough to satisfy board members remains to be seen.
James A. Bacon is the founder of Bacon’s Rebellion and a contributing editor with The Jefferson Council.
