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PARKERSBURG -- West Virginia University at Parkersburg will be increasing its tuition for the first time in a couple of years.
Throughout the pandemic over the last couple of years, the college has not raised tuition costs to help students manage the costs of continuing their education when a lot of classes were being done virtually or limited in-person contact.
This school year, the university has returned to in-person classes with precautions taken to deal with the continuing COVID pandemic.
In a item approved this week by the Board of Governors, the in-state rate will raise for Associate level students 4.87 percent and the Baccalaureate rate will raise 4.89 percent. The out-of-state rate for Associate students will raise 4.97 percent and the Baccalaureate rate will raise 4.92 percent.
The increases amount to an increase of $8 per credit hour for in-state Associate Degree students going from $160 to $168 a credit hour and $11 per credit hour for Baccalaureate Degree students going from $221 to $232 per credit hour. Out-of-state students will see an increase of $18 for Associate Degree students and $19 per credit hour for Baccalaureate Degree students.
In-state Associate Degree students will have a $2,066 tuition rate per semester while Baccalaureate Degree students will have a $2,834 tuition rate per semester (which includes the $50 fee charge which did not go up). Out-of-state Associate Degree students will have a $4,562 tuition rate per semester while Baccalaureate Degree students will have a $4,862 tuition rate per semester.
President Chris Gilmer said the majority of students at WVU-P pay the in-state rate, whether they live in West Virginia, Ohio or take classes online with very few having to pay the actual out-of-state rate.
"WVU-P was recognized earlier this year by U.S. News and World Report as one of the top five southern regional colleges for students graduating with the lowest student debt, so we take maintaining the affordability of college for our students very seriously," he said. "As is the case at the gas pumps, grocery store check-out lines, and electric meters, inflation and supply chain issues are hitting higher education hard.
"WVU-P is not immune, and we have held the line for two years in recognition of the fiscal challenges the pandemic has imposed on so many of our students."
Gilmer said this small increase was being sought now so the university would not have to do a larger increase later if the need would arise. Sometimes schools have had to make large increases all at once, 10 to 20 percent, which in turn could be harmful to students, he said.
"We are doing this so it will not be a significant impact to our students," Gilmer said of a small controlled increase.
This will allow the university to pursue new academic and workforce programs and continue to enhance existing programs in support of the workforce needs of the Mid-Ohio Valley while still placing no significant hardship on their students, he said.
"It is important to note that any student receiving a full financial aid package will still have more than enough funding available to cover the full tuition and fees costs of attending WVU-P without having to borrow any money," Gilmer added.
The increase is expected to raise around $360,000 based on current enrollment numbers.
Gilmer said they are seeing indications they might have increased enrollment in the fall.
"We are being proactive in building out programs," he said.
The university has around $19 million in cash reserves, which would almost cover an entire year's budget. Even with the inflation being seen, the university is expecting to be able to maintain its current employment levels.
"We are in strong financial shape," he said.
Gilmer also announced this week to the Board of Governors the university is also beginning to relax some of its COVID protocols. They are continuing to follow local and state health recommendations. Mask use is encouraged but not mandatory at the university now and contact tracing will only involve cases on campus.
The change was "appropriate due to a more positive trajectory of the virus and prevailing state and national trends, and the administration undertook this revision as this Board outlined," Gilmer said.
Brett Dunlap can be reached at bdunlap@newsandsentinel.com