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VMI committee previews 3% tuition increase, flags athletics shortfall and enrollment path to recovery
Summary
Virginia Military Institute staff asked the board committee to endorse budget assumptions — including a 3% tuition/fee increase and a 480 new-cadet class — while warning of a possible $2 million athletics shortfall that could draw auxiliary reserves; staff will return with alternative budget scenarios and fund-balance history ahead of the April board meeting.
Virginia Military Institute staff presented fiscal 2027 budget assumptions on March 1, asking the board committee for directional support for a 3% increase in tuition and associated fees and outlining multi-year enrollment scenarios that push full recovery to roughly 2030.
The committee session focused on three interlocking risks: uncertain state funding, enrollment (matriculation) shortfalls, and rising operating costs that include insurance and utilities. Jeff Lawhorn, who walked the committee through the assumptions, said the staff modeled a 3% tuition increase for in-state and out-of-state students, a 3% rise in auxiliary and athletics fees, and a budgeted new-cadet class of 480 that produces an opening-day enrollment in the roughly 1,000-student range.
Why it matters: higher tuition and fee revenue is the primary lever the institute staff identified to close projected shortfalls; at the same time, athletics operations are producing persistent deficits that would reduce the institution’s auxiliary reserves if left unaddressed.
Lawhorn summarize…
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