Opinion: Virginia deserves more from its public universities

In The News

October 15, 2022

From The Virginia Pilot

By James Murphy

October 15, 2022

The College of William & Mary recently announced that next fall it will start covering the full cost of tuition and fees for in-state students from low-income households. Just as important, the university said it is increasing the percentage of in-state students who will see this benefit. This is good news for Virginia students and families, and W&M should be applauded for increasing opportunity and building prosperity in Virginia by training a stronger workforce.

Let’s not clap too loud or too long, however.

W&M is making these moves because it has done a poor job of enrolling low-income students and increasing upward social mobility for Virginians. In our new report on funding for public higher education, we found that just 19% of W&M’s in-state students come from homes with incomes under $103,000, which account for roughly two-thirds of Virginia households.

Read the full story here.