The state Higher Education Policy Commission Friday (May 13) signed off on tuition and fee increases approved earlier in the week by the West Virginia University Board of Governors.

WVU resident undergraduate students will see tuition and fee increases of 5.74 percent; resident graduate students, 5.77 percent; and nonresident undergraduate and graduate students, 6.75 percent.

For the main campus in Morgantown, the increase translates into $113 more for in-state undergraduate students per semesterfrom $1,969 to $2,082and $125 more for in-state graduate studentsfrom $2,166 to $2,291.

For out-of-state undergraduates, the increase means $407 more per semesterfrom $6,030 to $6,437and for out-of-state graduate students, the increase will be $420 more per semesterfrom $6,221 to $6,641.

HEPC , meeting by teleconference, also approved tuition and fee increases at Potomac State College of WVU and WVU Institute of Technology.

Effective July 1, HEPC will no longer be required to approve tuition and fee increases at WVU and Marshall under a bill approved earlier this year by the Legislature and signed by Gov. Joe Manchin.

In other business, the commission:

  • OKd the recommended rankings of university and college performance for the purpose of setting tuition and fee increases for 2005-06. WVU received the highest rankinganexcellentmeaning the University is substantially meeting nearly all conditions of its institutional compact and is making reasonable progress in reaching multi-year goals. Theexcellentranking allows the University the greatest flexibility in adopting tuition and fee increases.
  • approved the fiscal year 2006 Higher Education Resource Assessment. In-state students pay $35 while out-of-state students are assessed $150. That amount totals just over $2 million for WVU . The budget for expenditure of HERA funds will be presented at the June HEPC meeting.

The next regular meeting of the state Higher Education Policy Commission is scheduled June 10.