Budget cuts threaten financial aid
For Virginians, it pays to attend a private college in state – but that might change.
The Virginia Tuition Assistance Grant (VTAG) is given to state residents who attend a private college in Virginia. This school year, those students received $3,200 toward their tuition. The State Council of Higher Education of Virginia (SCHEV), which oversees both public and private institutions, has recommended a $300 increase for next year.
But after a $641-million shortfall in the state budget, Gov. Tim Kaine has proposed a $300-million across-the-board budget cut, which could threaten the VTAG program.
Lee Andes, SCHEV's assistant director of financial aid, says he isn't worried.
"Financial aid is usually one of the last things to be affected," he said. He said his agency has not heard about any probable cuts or changes to financial aid programs, including VTAG.
But Robert Lambeth, president of the Council of Independent Colleges in Virginia (CICV), said that there were many potential issues that may arise.
"VTAG is a pot of money divided by the number of eligible students," Lambeth said. "We know that the budget situation is not great." He said his group realizes that the governor might have to recommend cutting some programs.
Kaine's proposed budget will be released Dec. 17. The General Assembly, which must approve the budget, will convene Jan. 9.
CICV has asked for recipients and their parents to send letters to the General Assembly and governor to "sound off and be heard on the subject." While that happens each year, Lambeth said that the climate for sending the letters this year has been different.
"We may not know quite yet how bad the situation is," he said. "Our nervousness comes largely from the environment that we're working in."
The program, established in 1972, is designed to assist Virginia residents who attend "accredited private, non-profit colleges and universities in Virginia for other than religious training or theological education," according to the SCHEV Web site.
The grant is actually a bargain for the state. Public schools like the University of Virginia or the College of William and Mary cost the state far more per student than the VTAG grant to provide a college education. Tuition for those public state schools covers only a fraction of the actual cost, and in-state students pay even less tuition than others.
The state wants to encourage Virginia students to stay in-state for college, whether in public or private colleges, because such students are more likely to remain in-state for their careers, contributing to the commonwealth with taxes and good citizenship. So VTAG is considered a cost-saving investment to encourage Virginians to stay in the state should they choose to attend a private college.
Lambeth added that students attending private schools in Virginia are more needy.
"People kind of think of private colleges as a place for rich kids, but that's not the case," he said. A higher percentage of poor students and of African Americans in Virginia go to private colleges than to public college, he said. For such students, he said, "a small amount of money can be significant."
At Southern Virginia University (SVU) in Buena Vista, the financial aid office is worried about the effect that cuts could have on the student population.
"If they can't get the VTAG, then they have to get the funds from somewhere else," said Miranda Kelly, a clerk in the financial aid office.
VTAG subsidizes about 13 percent of the cost of attending SVU, which is between $24,000 and $24,400.
"This could be the last straw," Kelly said. "It would have a big effect on the students from Virginia."
She estimated that 30 to 35 percent of the 755 students at SVU receive VTAG.
At Washington and Lee University, financial aid director John DeCourcy said he didn't expect a cut in VTAG to have an impact on students.
DeCourcy did say that he thought that the impact of a lessened VTAG would be felt at schools like SVU and Bridgewater College, where VTAG is the "absolute life blood" behind financial aid.
"For full-pay families, $3,000 for all but the wealthiest families is a tremendous amount of money [in] after-tax income," he said.
W&L junior Casidhe Horan, of Richmond, says VTAG provides a minor type of financial assistances, in comparison to the high costs of attending W&L.
"I wouldn't call it a big help," she said. "I would call it a small help. It did help me focus more on in-state private schools."
Produced by Washington and Lee journalism students.
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