• Orientation fees for freshmen and transfer students will increase from $ 100 to $ 150;
• One-time registration fees for graduate students will be increased from $ 28 to $ 50;
• Meal plans will increase from $ 2,267 to $ 2,562 per semester to $ 2,351 to $ 2,657; and
• A refundable security deposit of 100 USD in the dormitory and booking will no longer be refundable, so the non-refundable deposit of 100 USD already required will be essentially doubled

Christina Dalton, West Virginia state vice president of business and finance, said the higher student orientation fees would be “our new student orientation can be more robust and provide our new students. full experience.

For West Virginia undergraduates, the annual tuition rate plus fees charged to all students will remain at approximately $ 7,900.

“The global pandemic has had a significant impact on our students and their families, and adding additional costs to them at this time was not something we wanted to do,” the university said in a statement. “Instead, we are taking a proactive approach not only with cost savings, but also to bring new income to the university. We are actively seeking to increase our enrollment, retain our current students, and increase our fundraising initiatives.

Friday’s vote came after a presentation to the board on the school’s financial issues, including the failure amid the pandemic on past estimates of tuition income.

His leadership at the top has changed over the past year.

By creating the budget for the current fiscal year, which ends June 30, the university projected that it would receive about $ 12 million in tuition and revenue.

The university estimates it will receive $ 1.7 million less, Dalton said.

Instead of getting $ 5.8 million from “ancillary” income, which includes money from food and shelter, he will only get $ 4 million this fiscal year. That’s another $ 1.8 million reduction. Without the federal funds for pandemic relief this fiscal year, Dalton said, “Our expenses would have exceeded our revenues.”

“Due to the pandemic, other institutions have seen a loss of income in terms of tuition and room and board costs,” she said.

The university’s net position – income minus expenses – began to “decline” in the 2018-19 fiscal year, before the pandemic, she said. This “very thin” net position, compared to previous years, continued into the 2019-20 fiscal year, the latter part of which saw the onset of the pandemic, she said.

“From a cash flow perspective, you see where the university was starting to get stressed,” she said.

Dalton said salaries and labor costs had increased as net position declined, despite a general decline in student enrollments.

“If we don’t move forward to become more financially responsible now, the university will continue to struggle financially,” said Dalton.

Dalton said the university’s budget for the next fiscal year cuts operating expenses by 10% and includes a hiring freeze for “non-critical” positions. The school tries not to use other federal relief funds to cover deficits. The state of West Virginia intends to use this money to improve and develop the school in the long term.