Virginia Tech declines to raise in-state tuition for first time in nearly two decades

Monday, Virginia Tech became the latest state university to freeze tuition rates for next year, joining Radford and Virginia Commonwealth University. The move was bankrolled by the General Assembly, and comes as a relief to parents and students concerned with the high cost of higher education.

For kids considering college, cost often comes first.

Just ask Virginia Tech freshman Spencer Mack.

"Because of that, we mostly ruled out out-of-state schools. So that's why, instead of going to MIT or wherever, we chose Virginia Tech," he said.

The Virginia native adds though Tech may be cheaper, it's not cheap.

"I think it's pretty pricey," said Mack.

It's a problem Tech officials are only too familiar with. On Monday afternoon, it played heavily into a decision by the Board of Visitors to freeze the cost of tuition next year for in-state undergraduate students.

"It's good news for Virginia families and for all of Virginia," said University Spokesperson Mark Owczarski. He said the freeze was facilitated by the General Assembly, which pitched in $6.3 million in surplus tax revenue to Tech alone.

"That's a huge support, and we're very grateful that Richmond is partnering with all the universities in Virginia that want to take advantage of this," said Owczarski.

The money comes amid decades of declining funding for higher education in the commonwealth. According to university officials, state funding now only makes up 17 percent of Tech's $1.6-billion operating budget. That's down from a historic highs when the state bankrolled more than half of Tech's operations.

"For the past couple years, the state and higher education have been working together to turn that around. And this year was a big positive step," said Owczarski.

However, the freeze only affects in-state, resident tuition, which will remain at $11,420 annually. Mandatory fees will still increase, meaning incoming freshmen will still pay at least $71 more than this year's students. Room and board, graduate tuition, out of state tuition, and other fees also all increased again this year.

However, students like Spencer Mack are grateful for the freeze, even if it doesn't cover everything. "I think it's a great idea, and I'm glad they did that, because it's already expensive enough," he said.