RICHMOND — A bill that would allow the University of Virginia’s College at Wise to offer reduced tuition rates to any students from the Appalachian region passed the House of Delegates on Tuesday.
HB 1666 from Del. Terry Kilgore, R-Scott, came at the request of the college, which is hoping that by offering lowered tuition rates to out-of-state students, it can combat declining enrollment.
The federally defined Appalachian region extends from northern Alabama to southern New York, covering all or part of 13 states. Offering a reduced rate to students in that region would bring those students close to or equal to receiving the in-state tuition rate.
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“We need a carrot to bring those students to Southwest Virginia,” Kilgore said after the bill passed.
Currently, tuition is $10,119 for full-time, in-state students and $27,846 for full-time, out-of-state students. Students within about a 50-mile radius from the school in Tennessee and Kentucky are eligible for reduced tuition that is set at $10,789 annually for a full-time class load.
While Kilgore’s bill has passed through the House, a Senate committee hit the brakes last week on a companion measure, SB 1519 from Sen. Bill Carrico, R-Grayson.
Out-of-state students generally pay the full cost of their education, while taxpayers subsidize the cost of in-state students. This issue as it relates to the College at Wise’s proposal gave Sen. David Suetterlein, R-Roanoke County, pause.
“I always have concerns about granting in-state tuition to folks who aren’t Virginia taxpayers,” said Suetterlein, a member of the Senate Health and Education Committee.
Sen. Janet Howell, D-Fairfax, was apprehensive about the precedent this would set, saying this would be “going down the wrong road.”
“Would we do that when we get up into Northern Virginia?” Howell said. “Will those from D.C. and Maryland be able to get in-state tuition?”
Enrollment has been declining at the College at Wise for the past several years. In the fall, 1,187 students enrolled seeking degrees, and another 879 students not seeking degrees attended.
The school hopes that a reduced tuition rate for those in the Appalachian region will add another 100 students to the campus.
“This is an effort the University of Virginia at Wise is doing to recruit students, and whenever you recruit students and they go to college there, they are more likely to stay in that region,” Carrico told the senators.
Sen. Chap Petersen, D-Fairfax City, spoke in favor of the bill because he said boosting the enrollment would be valuable to the coalfields community that is looking to revive its economy.
“It’s a beautiful community, it’s a beautiful campus, and we’ve got to get bodies onto that campus,” he said.
The Senate committee is expected to hear the bill again on Thursday. The House version will go to the Senate.
Amy Friedenberger
Amy Friedenberger is a reporter for The Roanoke Times. Follow her on Twitter at @ajfriedenberger. She can be reached at 540-981-3356 or amy.friedenberger@roanoke.com.
