Excitement over recent acceptances to the Accelerated MPP slapped with this potential new reality today. Shouldn’t an increase this large be phased in?
I find it odd that it cites similar programs at Gtown, Mich, and Duke yet UVa’s public policy program is relatively unknown and lacks prestige.
My son wanted to do a 5 year bachelors/masters with Batten, but once he read the fine print, he found out it wouldn’t work even with AP credit. The main problem was that the Politics department requirements for an undergrad major discriminated against Batten classes.
Now I’m glad he didn’t do it, because it could have been unaffordable.
The plan that was presented anticipates the rise in prestige with a “high tuition, high financial aid” model that they believe will shift to less aid over time.
My main issue is that they announced this “tuition reset” a couple of weeks after accepting the accelerated students. The regular MPP students have been accepted for slightly longer, but none would have anticipated a 40% leap in tuition. Phasing it in would at least put applicants on notice, rather than what feels a bit like bait and switch.
At least some opportunity for TA stipend exists – may mitigate my bitterness if that materializes.
To blind side these students (and parents) like this is outrageous. Read Helen Dragas’ concerns about the lack of transparency in this year’s tuition review process. Lots of protests going on in C-Ville right now…this one should be added to the list.
If I read the article correctly, they are proposing to greatly increase financial aid for Batten Grad students. The people who will end up paying a much higher net amount will be people with large amounts of financial resources. In any case, it is always desirable to phase in large increases and give applicants advance notice of unusually large increases.
Some of the headlines on the tuition increases are a little deceiving, because they are highlighting total increases proposed over 2 or 3 years. For example, the increased tuition for existing in-state undergrads for the next year will be rather modest.
Newly accepted Batten Accelerated MPP students were notified today that their net tuition/fees will not be affected by the 40% bump that was just announced. So happy that the University is treating these students fairly. Standard inflation tuition increases will still apply.