NORFOLK, Va. — Get ready to pay a little bit more for tuition at community colleges in Virginia. The rate is going up for the first time in five years.
The Virginia State Board for Community Colleges voted unanimously to raise tuition by 3%. That's an extra $4.61 per credit hour.
The increase goes into effect for the 2023-24 school year.
The tuition rate has not gone up in five consecutive years and the board even delayed making a decision in May as the General Assembly continued to deliberate the state budget for the upcoming year. As budget deliberations continue well into July, the board determined a tuition increase would be necessary to "ensure continued quality instruction and uninterrupted services."
"We reviewed the options of further delaying a decision, which would have adversely impacted our students, or we could move forward with a tuition increase to ensure continued high-quality instruction," said Peggy Layne, Chair, State Board of Virginia’s Community Colleges in a news release. "Unfortunately, this increase will not fully cover all of the cost pressures faced by our community colleges in these inflationary times."
The increase only applies to tuition. Other mandatory fees vary at the community college level.