W&M Board Votes for Mid-Year Tuition Hike, Layoffs to Balance Budget

By Amber Lester Friday, November 20, 2009

The William and Mary Board of Visitors approved a plan Friday to re-balance the budget through a combination of budget cuts, federal stimulus funds and additional tuition revenue.

The cuts include 18 eliminated positions and a $300 mid-year tuition increase for all undergraduates and graduate business and law students. The board acted in response to Gov. Tim Kaine’s September announcement that the state’s colleges and universities would see a 15 percent reduction in state funds. For William and Mary, that meant $6.2 million needed to be shifted around in the budget.

In recent years, state funding cuts have become commonplace to higher education administrators. Since April 2008, William and Mary’s state support has been permanently reduced by $16.7 million. At the start of the BOV finance committee meeting, WM President Taylor Reveley told assembled board members and observers the college can no longer rely on the state for support.

“What will not work? Reliance on the state to feed us,” he said. “What will work is a really powerful development program rooted in alumni.”

The plan the board approved will use a one-time infusion of $2.8 million in federal stimulus funds to offset the new cuts. The college originally received $3.1 million in stimulus funds. The stimulus funds were originally meant to go toward next year’s operating budget, which means the college will again come up short when preparing the next fiscal year’s budget. Board Rector Henry Wolf said if the budget solutions were a three-legged stool, the stimulus money would be one leg. “Moving forward, that leg is going to disappear,” he said.

The remaining $3.4 million shortfall was also addressed by cuts of $1.5 million to the college’s operating budget. The maintenance and operations budget will be slashed by $700,000. The elimination of 18 positions will save $800,000.

Of the 18 positions eliminated, six were vacant or lost through attrition and 12 will be layoffs. No instructional faculty will be laid off, and those facing layoffs will find out around Nov. 30. The layoffs will become effective Jan. 1, Jones said. The Virginia Institute of Marine Science will also eliminate 13 positions. In total, William and Mary has eliminated 31 positions in 2009; 19 were vacancies and 12 were layoffs. Despite the cuts, the college has not enacted a hiring freeze, Jones said.

The board’s final measure to close the budget gap is a $300 mid-year tuition increase for all undergraduates and graduate business and law students. The increase will not apply to graduate students at VIMS or the College of Arts and Sciences. It will be added as a permanent base rate raise, bringing the college’s in-state tuition from $6,388 to $6,688.

Jones anticipates the tuition might have to increase again in the fall. “We know we will have buildings coming online then,” he said, referring to the opening of new facilities, including the School of Education.

The mid-year tuition increase will be the second in 10 years. In the spring semester of 2003, tuition was raised $400 for all students.

The decline in state funding has been decreasing since 1980, when the state provided 43 percent of the college’s operating budget. This year, the state provided less than 14 percent of the budget. As 20 new delegates prepare to enter the state’s General Assembly, the college will be preparing to lobby for more support. Board member Anita Poston emphasized the importance of meeting and greeting the new delegates to make sure they understand William and Mary’s value, which Reveley added is often misunderstood.

He said lawmakers have a tendency to lump William and Mary with bigger universities, such as the University of Virginia or Virginia Tech, when in reality, it has much more in common with specialty colleges such as Virginia Military Institute. For that reason, he repeatedly made the case for raising costs for in-state students, who pay $10,800 including tuition and fees. By contrast, out-of-state students are big moneymakers for the school; they pay $30, 964 in tuition and fees.

The college’s in-state tuition is regulated by the General Assembly, who in the past, has responded to its requests to raise tuition by suggesting the college increase its student-teacher ratio, which is 11 to one.

Because of the GA’s past reluctance, board members and college staff reiterated the importance of finding new avenues of funding. Fundraising has been successful for the school in the past; the college raised a record-breaking $50.8 million last fiscal year.

In the next year, the college will put a call to arms out to its 85,000 living alumni for donations and support. Vice President for Strategic Initiatives James R. Golden and Provost Michael R. Halleran highlighted some of the initiatives to be included in the Strategic Plan. One of their main themes is connecting with alumni and promoting a lifelong commitment to William and Mary.

Despite the pressures, Reveley reminded the board the college has been through tougher times. “We were occupied and burned by the British. We’ve had problems,” he said. “But as our lamentations rise to the heavens, it’s good to keep perspective.”

Read Reveley's statement to the college community here.