BOV Committee Discusses Out-of-State Tuition

By Connect Mason Reporter Mrinalini Ramanan

Members of the Board of Visitors' Finance and Resource Development Committee convened in Mason Hall yesterday to discuss the fate of tuition for out-of-state students.

The motion of the proceeding was to increase tuition rates by up to 16 percent for out-of-state, incoming undergraduates. Included was a component that would have some of the additional revenue earmarked for financial aid. The motion was supplemented with a university study based on a model that used survey data pertaining to the freshman class.

The results showed that the increase in tuition rates for Mason was higher than the other universities in the study, but still gave the university a better turnout for the students from out-of-state. The increase in tuition rates may potentially impact the perceptive value of the university in a positive way and thus increase the number of non-residential students, according to the committee chair.

A debate soon followed as one committee member pointed out that the study and the motion does not include much of the Mason population, and though it might yield a significant revenue, it does not affect the overall Mason community. Provost Stearns also highlighted flaws in the motion.

The committee voted in favor of the motion, which will later be brought before the full BOV at their next meeting for additional review.

The committee further recommended that the administration initiate a more comprehensive study of tuition pricing that looks at both out-of-state and in-state students.