Gov. McDonnell to Speak in Fairfax Tomorrow About Higher Education

Virginia Governor Bob McDonnell will speak in Fairfax tomorrow for the second time in less than two weeks.

He will appear at George Mason University's Mason Hall at 11 a.m. Thursday for a talk on "higher education policy reform."

GMU is one of several public, four-year colleges and universities across Virginia that has announced it will be raising tuition in the fall. 

As Patch reported earlier this month, all state public four-year schools will see a 5.1-percent increase in tuition on average, beginning in just one month, for the start of the 2013-14 school year.

At GMU, a full-time, in-state student will have to pay 3 percent more, or $288. Students at GMU who live on campus will see an increase of $310 in room and board costs.

Though the school reports this is the lowest tuition hike in about 10 years, many on Fairfax City's Facebook page said the constant increases - especially coming at a time when student loan rates are rising at an alarming rate - are making a quality college education a luxury many can't afford.

"These continuing increases of tuition and educational fees are causing the bubble of debt to expand, while the number of jobs for our aspiring graduates continues to dwindle," said Patch reader Alexander Rogge. "It used to be that a student could work a low-wage or part-time summer job while going to school, and be able to pay off his entire tuition."

"Instead of graduating with a manageable amount of debt, the bulk of the college graduates now have more than one trillion dollars of debt hanging over their heads, often for an education that could have been obtained for much less money," Rogge continued.

"They need to stop these high increases! I don't think it correlates with the cost of living increases," Patch reader Cynthia Eftis commented. "Are they giving all the university employees raises with these increases?"

Earlier in the day, McDonnell will be speaking at a K-12 roundtable discussion with school officials in Alexandria.

All of these stops are part of McDonnell's "The Commonwealth of Opportunity" tour, which will take him to many corners of the state over a one-week period.

TELL US - If you could ask Gov. McDonnell a question about higher education policy reform, what would you ask him? Tell us in the comments below.

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