VCU news

By Mike Porter

The Virginia Commonwealth University Board of Visitors will hold in-person committee meetings on May 9, beginning at 8 a.m. All meetings will take place at James Branch Cabell Library, 901 Park Avenue, Room 303. The meetings will be held in open and closed session. The public may view a livestream of the open session videoconference at mssvideo.vcu.edu/BOV. Should you have any interruption with the video broadcast of the meeting, please contact Taron James at 804-828-8313. Details are below.

All meetings will be a committee of the whole using procedural rules that are based on those of the committee, except that in this case the committee includes all members of the board.

In addition, the Board of Visitors will hold an in-person full board meeting on May 10, beginning at 8:30 a.m. at James Branch Cabell Library, 901 Park Avenue, Room 303. The meeting will be held in open and closed session. The public may view a livestream of the open session videoconference at mssvideo.vcu.edu/BOV. Should you have any interruption with the video broadcast of the meeting, please contact Taron James at 804-828-8313.

PUBLIC COMMENT

The Board of Visitors invites members of the community to provide feedback at this Open Comment Portal.

There will be a one-hour public comment period at the beginning of the full board meeting on May 10 prior to action on any proposed tuition increase and the university’s budget.

If you would like to offer public comment on May 10 at 8:30 a.m. in Room 303 at James Branch Cabell Library, 901 Park Ave., you should register by providing the following information via email to bov@vcu.edu: name, email and phone number, VCU affiliation (e.g., student, faculty, employee, alumni, parent or member of the public), and request for reasonable accommodation if needed. Please note in the subject line that you are registering to speak at the May 10 BOV meeting public comment. You may also call Chelsea Gray, executive director of board and executive operations, at 804-828-9213 to register.

Speakers will proceed in the order of registration and should be in person or online at the start of the meeting at 8:30 a.m. Speakers will be limited to a maximum of three minutes each. Preference will be given on a first-come, first-served basis. The first 20 individuals to register will have the opportunity to speak during the public comment period; individuals beyond the first 20 to register may submit written comments (see below). Speakers may provide materials in advance if they wish to share with the Board of Visitors.

Individuals unable to attend the public comment period or provide comment during the allotted hour period may provide written comment via the the portal to ensure an adequate opportunity for informed public comment. All comments submitted to the portal must be made by 4:30 p.m. May 8.

Details of board meetings can be found at bov.vcu.edu/meetings/.

TUITION & FEES INFORMATION

The Virginia Commonwealth University Board of Visitors met on April 11 where senior administration shared an enrollment update and an overview of the university’s budget. The presentation outlined how resources are aligned to drive VCU’s success and value as well as potential changes to undergraduate tuition and fees.

VCU senior leaders proposed options to address inflationary costs while investing in innovative academic programming and applied learning to further grow student success and the value of a VCU degree. Under the proposed budget, these investments and costs are addressed by ongoing budget realignments, anticipated funding from the state and enrollment revenue.

Tuition and mandatory fee increases ranging from 0% to 4% for fiscal year 2024-25, consistent with the university’s Six-Year Plan, were presented. Visit here to see details about proposed tuition and fees.

VCU's board voted to hold tuition flat for undergraduate in-state students from FY20 through FY22 and offset FY23 increases with one-time scholarships – keeping tuition and fees at or below inflation and realigning resources to address academic priorities, continued financial aid support, salary increases and military student waivers.

These recent actions underscore VCU’s emphasis on affordability, resulting in a decline in annual student borrowing since 2013-14, when adjusted for inflation.