Students at the University of the Virgin Islands can expect to see increases in tuition and room and board fees when they return to campus next fall.
The University’s board of trustees voted to approve the fee hikes Saturday at a meeting held at UVI’s Administration and Conference Center.
University President David Hall explained that the decision to raise tuition wasn’t easy – but it was necessary. He said even with the higher fees, the university is still one of the most affordable schools in the nation.
“Tuition increases are not things that any institution is thrilled about,” he told trustees.
Several members of the board bristled at the higher costs.
“By increasing these fees, we are shifting away from the mission of the university,” said Sinclair Wilkinson. He said the school had a duty to make sure that everyone who wanted an education could get one.
Hall told him that the increase amounted to about $120 more per semester – an amount that should not be high enough to keep a would-be student out of school. He also noted that without money, the school can’t continue to function successfully. The extra funds mean faculty and staff could get much-needed pay increases or could help fund improvements on the St. Thomas and St. Croix campuses.
Hall said he had met with students to discuss the rate hikes, and while they weren’t thrilled, they understood the need to make the campus better. Both the proposal to raises tuition and the proposal to raise room and board fees passed with 14 affirmatives and two negatives.
Board members unanimously approved the creation of a Bachelor of Business Administration in Hotel and Tourism Management program.
Professor Glenn Metts told trustees that he wanted to create a program that would produce professionals who were not just employable, but in-demand.
“We don’t want a program to teach students how to fold napkins,” he said.
Trustees were in full support – with some noting that the curriculum just needed a few tweaks, such as adding in more English and psychology classes so that students undersand how to best communicate.
Provost Karl Wright led the board through an update of the school’s key performance indicators. He noted that,with a student headcount of 2,942 students, school administrators they had exceeded their fall 2010 enrollment goal of 2,700 students. He said they had seen a 10 percent increase in male enrollment, which has proved challenging in the past. However, Wright also said that the school is still struggling with retaining students.
“We are not pleased with the fact that male retention is down,” he said, noting that administrators are currently looking into how to keep students invested in school, and that he hoped to have some solid answers to the question when the board meets again in the spring.
Finally, the board heard an update on the university’s Research and Technology Park. The park, which links the university with high-tech businesses, had a successful year – with more than half of its revenues coming from commercial sources. Officials said they hoped that 2011 would be the last year that RT Park would have to depend on local government funding.
