RICHMOND, Va. (AP) - The board of visitors of The College of William & Mary has voted to roll back an increase in tuition and mandatory fees for the next school year in response to the coronavirus pandemic.
The board voted unanimously Tuesday to roll back the tuition increase it approved in the fall for incoming in-state undergraduate students, the Richmond Times-Dispatch reported. Instead, all students will pay the same rates they did this year.
Although tuition and mandatory fees are staying flat, students who return to campus will be subject to a 2.9% average increase in room rate and up to a 3% increase in the meal plan rate.
William & Mary is estimating financial losses caused by the coronavirus through August to be between $13 million and $32 million.
“COVID-19 has negatively impacted the education, finances and well-being of our students and families,” said Rector John Littel. “The university has worked tirelessly to ensure that the pandemic causes as little disruption to learning as possible, but it is also important to look for ways to lessen the financial burden many are facing and remove some uncertainty for families.”
The governing board voted in September to increase tuition 3% for new in-state undergraduate students. State lawmakers included money for a statewide tuition freeze in their budget approved in March, but the General Assembly axed plans for the second straight year of keeping rates flat under a plan Gov. Ralph Northam proposed to suspend new spending in the state budget.
Other colleges, including Virginia Commonwealth University in Richmond and Christopher Newport University in Newport News, also have agreed on plans to hold tuition steady in response to the economic fallout and the uncertainty of when students will return to campus.
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