Flat Hat: W&M May Be 80% Virginians

Colleges and Universities A-Z College of William and Mary
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A bill recently introduced in the General Assembly would require that 80 percent of students at state public universities come from Virginia. Sponsored by Del. David B. Albo (R-Fairfax), the legislation calls for a 1.3 percent yearly increase in the proportion of Virginians to out-of-state students until the goal of 80 percent is attained.

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<p>WM</a> may be 80 percent Virginians | Flat Hat News</p>

<p>Personally, I find the editorial</a> response to be spot on - I couldn't find a better description of the legislation than what they wrote: "almost comically awful."</p>

<p>But on the other hand, such a populist measure <em>could</em> pass; would this turn "The College" into "The Community College"?</p>

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<p>Wow - this Albo guy seems uninformed about several key issues, including selectivity, how higher education is funded, and where top universities need to spend their dollars in order to remain top universities (yes, Delegate Albo, high faculty salaries and updated facilities are really pretty important ...). Stating that more students should be admitted in order to cover costs does not inspire faith in his ability to grasp a complicated situation.</p>

<p>As I mentioned in another thread, according to President Reveley, VA funds only 18 percent of W & M's annual budget as it is. Albo is asking for an awful lot in exchange for providing less than one-fifth of what it costs to run the school. I do believe that his bill would effectively damage higher ed at VA's top public universities.</p>

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<p>This bill is so perfectly flawed that it's bound to pass. What a shame.</p>

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<p>Well that sucks for us oos applicants. Me thinks its time for w&m to go private again, any big donors willing to make up the 18% defecit, anyone?</p>

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<p>Better for us INSTATE applicants =D</p>

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<p>dumb it down just like the other state schools.</p>

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<p>I was in Richmond today for the student lobbying day, and I don't think the bill is going to pass - much less get out of committee (it DEFINITELY will not make it through the Senate). On the other hand, thee is definitely tension between UVA & W&M and some of the legislators. Its not even specifically mandated what levels the schools need to have, so its a no-no discussion topic. The schools don't want to provoke it, as its a sensitive area, where what is right is different from what is politically easy.</p>

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<p>this guy is a moron.</p>

<p>I'm going to send him hate mail (and email my own rep)</p>

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<p>I'm not sure hate-mail will help a ton, but definitely email your own reps and senators! Extra Credit for those in NoVa!</p>

<p>Quick Fact: Northern Virginians make up 51% of the in-state students. Northern Virginia is only 25% of the state population!</p>

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<p>As my Nova friends at W&M used to say, "NOVA is actually the 51st state."</p>

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<p>NOVA is soooooo different from the rest of Virginia that it really needs to be its own state. Like North Virginia haha...</p>

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<p>if that happened, the school would only be 20% instate! lol</p>

<p>I can remember when I got it and started school at W&M. My SAT was the best in my class at a crappy high school in Chesapeake, but only average at W&M. I am convinced I would not have gotten in had I been from NOVA.</p>

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<p>
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Better for us INSTATE applicants =D

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<p>Not really -- his answer to making up the revenue shortfall from fewer paying OOS tuition isn't to increase the state's contribution - no, his "answer" is to:</p>

<p>a) Raise tuition for everyone; or
b) Admit more students</p>

<p>Higher tuition bills for in-staters mean fewer students able to afford tuition, while admitting more students would be even worse - more crowded facilities/dorms, (increasing wear-and-tear, leading to higher maint. costs and/or shabbier facilities), more crowded classes, fewer research positions, more TA's teaching classes. </p>

<p>In other words, it becomes a glorified community college where anyone with tuition can get in, and where anyone who'll take the salary can teach. As the school becomes less desirable, the amount of tuition they can charge goes down, so they have to admit <em>more</em> students or cut back on <em>more</em> things. As the school loses its reputation, the value of a diploma drops, alumni stop contributing, wealthier students stop attending, and in a few short years, the college starts circling the drain. </p>

<p>Answer "a" would be the lesser of the two evils he "proposes" - but his retarded and shallow "answers" show he doesn't care, it won't be <em>his</em> problem, and won't be there to help clean up the mess he's created; he'll take the 2% improvement in his approval ratings (from those embittered souls who've been rejected, or had their kids rejected from W&M and UVA) and run. </p>

<p>It's a profoundly short-sighted proposal - UVA, W&M, and the other state-supported colleges play a large role in the state's attractiveness to businesses; it's a quality of life issue, and an availability of educated potential employees issue. </p>

<p>Being attractive to knowledge-based businesses means more jobs, higher incomes, and a higher quality of life for everyone. If the true economic contributions of W&M/UVA to the overall state could be measured, I think we'd find the state would happily fund far more than 18% of the school budget - the overall Return On Investment in state school funding is almost certainly underestimated.</p>

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<p>The Norfolk/Virginia Beach paper had a front page article on this today. It presented the supporter side of this proposal first, but did have the decency to give the other side's point of view as well.</p>

<p>I got the impression it had very little chance of getting through because Virginia is already in a budget crisis, and this would make it worse. They used the example of an OOSer paying 29,000 for tuition vs an ISer paying 9,000.</p>

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<p>This is totally not sweet!! Why 80%??</p>

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<p>I think they are copying other states.</p>

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<p>This sounds like such a bad idea. UVA and W&M will become less selective and lower in quality. They're going to have to accept worse students and get less money from tuition; 2 extremely harmful results.</p>