The University of the Virgin Islands’ free-tuition program could be suspended as soon as this summer unless lawmakers secure millions of dollars in new funding, university officials told senators Wednesday, citing a growing deficit and about $8.5 million in unpaid government allotments.
The warning came during a Senate Education and Workforce Development Committee hearing, where UVI President Safiya George and senior administrators outlined mounting financial pressure on the territory’s only public university.
Officials said UVI is carrying a deficit tied to the free-tuition program, which has broadened access to higher education for Virgin Islands residents but has also increased costs without a reliable long-term funding stream. At the same time, the government of the Virgin Islands owes the university roughly $8.5 million in budget allocations from the last two fiscal years, creating cash-flow challenges that are affecting payroll, vendor payments, and core academic operations.
“We would have catastrophic impacts if that were to happen,” George said, referring to a potential suspension of tuition awards and the impact on students. She told lawmakers the dedicated free-tuition account is already about $500,000 in the red for the current spring semester and said UVI will need about $2.6 million to cover awards for spring, summer, and fall 2026, followed by roughly $3 million annually to keep the program stable.
According to university data presented at the hearing, 445 students received free-tuition support in fall 2025, a figure that rose to 644 students this spring, including 448 full-time and 196 part-time students. Officials said the Legislature’s 2024 decision to expand eligibility to part-time and online students improved access for working adults and nontraditional learners but also significantly increased program costs.
George said UVI has already exhausted remaining funds for the spring semester and is now carrying the deficit on its own books. Without additional appropriations, she told senators, the university would have to notify students that it is suspending new free-tuition awards for the upcoming summer term and fall 2026 semester and stop accepting free-tuition applications until funding is restored.
She said delayed allotments are creating “immediate and material operational challenges” and straining UVI’s ability to cover payroll and academic operations. In response, the university has restricted most travel, cut purchasing card limits and now owes about $3.5 million to vendors, some of whom have gone more than 90 days without payment.
Lawmakers pressed George for details but largely agreed the program should not be allowed to collapse. Sen. Novelle E. Francis, who also chairs the Finance Committee and has been meeting regularly with UVI and the Office of Management and Budget, said the government is already struggling to keep up with obligations across multiple agencies but insisted that halting tuition support is off the table.
“We continue to find ourselves in a quagmire,” Francis said, pointing to recent pleas for help from the judiciary, the Port Authority and the Waste Management Authority. “But we want to ensure that we continue to support our free tuition, and having that suspended is not an option.”
George told senators she has received verbal assurances from Gov. Albert Bryan Jr. and OMB Director Julio A. Rhymer Sr. that the administration intends to address both the scholarship deficit and the overdue allotments, and noted that Bryan sent a letter of support to UVI’s accreditor pledging to prioritize the university’s funding. However, she said no firm timeline has been given for when the money will actually reach the institution.
Several senators backed the principle of keeping tuition free for Virgin Islands residents but questioned how broad the program can realistically be. Lawmakers stressed that students should first exhaust federal aid options such as the Free Application for Federal Student Aid, or FAFSA, before turning to territorial dollars, and some argued that scarce funds should be focused on full‑time undergraduates rather than part‑time and online students. Others warned against allowing expectations to drift beyond tuition into free room, board and books at a time when the government is already struggling to meet obligations to hospitals, courts and other core services.
Even as they raised questions about scope and sustainability, several senators described UVI as one of the territory’s most important public institutions and said the government has a responsibility to keep it strong. Sen. Avery L. Lewis called UVI “the best university in the world” and urged the administration to market its online programs more aggressively to bring in additional revenue.
Sen. Kurt A. Vialet and others stressed that UVI remains one of the most affordable options for Virgin Islanders, especially when compared with mainland universities, where students often graduate with thousands of dollars in debt, and said any solution to the current shortfall should preserve tuition‑free access for local residents.
The Legislature is expected to revisit UVI’s finances during the upcoming budget and supplemental appropriation process, where lawmakers will decide whether, and under what conditions, to provide the millions of dollars UVI says it needs to keep the free‑tuition program going
