                                 CODE OF VIRGINIA

PUBLIC INSTITUTIONS OF HIGHER EDUCATION; TUITION AND FEES (§ 23.1-307)

A. The governing board of each public institution of higher education shall
continue to fix, revise, charge, and collect tuition, fees, rates, rentals, and
other charges for the services, goods, or facilities furnished by or on behalf
of such institution and may adopt policies regarding any such service rendered
or the use, occupancy, or operation of any such facility.

B. Except to the extent included in the institution&#8217;s six-year plan as
provided in subsection C, if the total of an institution&#8217;s tuition and
educational and general fees for any fiscal year for Virginia students exceeds
the difference for such fiscal year between (i) the institution&#8217;s cost of
education for all students, as calculated pursuant to clause (i) of subsection B
of &#xA7; 23.1-303 and (ii) the sum of the tuition and educational and general
fees for non-Virginia students, the state general funds appropriated for its
basic operations and instruction pursuant to subsection A of &#xA7; 23.1-303,
and its per student funding provided pursuant to &#xA7; 23.1-304, the
institution shall forgo new state funding at a level above the general funds
received by the institution during the 2011-2012 fiscal year, at the discretion
of the General Assembly, and shall be obligated to provide increased financial
aid to maintain affordability for students from low-income and middle-income
families. This limitation shall not apply to any portion of tuition and
educational and general fees for Virginia students allocated to student
financial aid, an institution&#8217;s share of state-mandated salary or fringe
benefit increases, increases in funds other than state general funds for the
improvement of faculty salary competitiveness above the level included in the
calculation in clause (i) of subsection B of &#xA7; 23.1-303, the
institution&#8217;s progress towards achieving any financial incentive pursuant
to &#xA7; 23.1-305, unavoidable cost increases such as operation and maintenance
for new facilities and utility rate increases, or other items directly
attributable to an institution&#8217;s unique mission and contributions.

C. Nothing in subsection B shall prohibit an institution from including in its
six-year plan required by &#xA7; 23.1-306 (i) new programs or initiatives
including quality improvements or (ii) institution-specific funding based on
particular state policies or institution-specific programs, or both, that will
cause the total of the institution&#8217;s tuition and educational and general
fees for any fiscal year for Virginia students to exceed the difference for such
fiscal year between (a) the institution&#8217;s cost of education for all
students, as calculated pursuant to clause (i) of subsection B of &#xA7;
23.1-303, and (b) the sum of the tuition and educational and general fees for
the institution&#8217;s non-Virginia students, the state general funds
appropriated for its basic operations and instruction pursuant to subsection A
of &#xA7; 23.1-303, and its per student funding provided pursuant to &#xA7;
23.1-304.

D. No governing board of any public institution of higher education shall
approve an increase in undergraduate tuition or mandatory fees without providing
students and the public a projected range of the planned increase, an
explanation of the need for the increase, and notice of (i) the date, time, and
location of the meeting at which public comment is permitted pursuant to
subsection E on the institution&#8217;s website and through any other standard
means of communication utilized by the institution with students at least 10
days prior to such meeting and (ii) the date and location of any vote on such
increase at least 30 days prior to such vote.

E. Prior to any vote referenced in subsection D, the governing board of each
public institution of higher education shall permit public comment on the
proposed increase at a meeting, as that term is defined in &#xA7; 2.2-3701, of
the governing board. Each such governing board shall establish policies for such
public comment, which may include reasonable time limitations.

F. At any meeting at which the governing board of a public institution of higher
education approves an increase in undergraduate tuition and mandatory fees, the
governing board shall provide an explanation of any deviation from the projected
range provided pursuant to subsection D.

G. No later than August 1 of each year, the Council shall provide to the
Governor and the Chairmen of the House Committee on Appropriations, the House
Committee on Education, the Senate Committee on Education and Health, and the
Senate Committee on Finance and Appropriations a report on any increase in
undergraduate tuition and mandatory fees at a public institution of higher
education, the public comment relating to such increase in undergraduate tuition
and mandatory fees, and any deviation in the increase in undergraduate tuition
and mandatory fees from the increase projected in the institutional six-year
plan provided pursuant to &#xA7; 23.1-306.

HISTORY: 2011, cc. 828, 869, § 23-38.87:18; 2016, c. 588; 2017, c. 523; 2019,
cc. 583, 584, 588; 2020, c. 435.