Virginia has one of the top-rated public higher education systems in the country, but as I speak with parents throughout the 45th District, many have shared anecdotes with me about how disproportionately difficult it is for even the highest-performing students from Northern Virginia to gain admission to the very public institutions their taxes support.
There was significant discussion during the 2009 General Assembly session about various legislative proposals to cap the proportion of out-of-state students, which might sound reasonable on its face, but the higher tuition we charge those out-of-state students helps keep in-state tuition reasonably affordable. Unfortunately, without increased state spending on higher education, there is an inherent tension between keeping in-state tuition low and reserving enough positions for in-state students.
Last week, many of Virginia’s public colleges and universities started sending offers of admission to students applying to begin this Fall. Therefore, rather than demagoguing this issue without giving it thoughtful consideration — an unproductive approach some of my colleagues have embraced — I am gathering the data necessary to find out once and for all whether admissions officers are shortchanging students from Northern Virginia. I sent formal letters Friday to the presidents of each of Virginia’s 15 state-supported four-year institutions requesting that they provide me with the number of students in each zip code who received offers of admission from their schools this year. Once I have these numbers, I will share them publicly so we may shine some sunlight on this situation.
Only by analyzing this information will we be able to determine the true extent of the problem and have the figures necessary to make smart policy choices to keep Virginia’s state colleges accessible and affordable for the families of Alexandria, Arlington, and Fairfax. I look forward to updating the people of the 45th District in the next few weeks once the numbers are in.
