State lawmakers say they’re determined to find ways that will help reign in the runaway costs of getting a college degree. Members of the House Higher Education Advisory Subcommittee applaud Virginia’s universities, but say the skyrocketing costs and college loan debt have become a very heavy burden for families.
The Joint Legislative Audit and Review Commission found that the non-academic portion of higher ed is the single biggest cost-driver. JLARC Associate Director Justin Brown says that inspired such measures as creating processes to limit student fees for athletics and eliminate unnecessary supervisor jobs.
“Supervisors tend to get paid more. And what’s happened is over time, you have—for a lot of different reasons—there’s now about a quarter of all supervisors that manage only one person in higher education.”
Under other provisions, institutions must standardize purchases, and review and streamline organizational structures. Panel Chair and Delegate Jimmie Massie has high praise for Virginia universities, but says just like families and businesses, they need to make sure their spending is justified.
“I can promise you, it’s going to be a major focus of us on the Appropriations Committee. We are not going to be allocating significant dollars—either in an operating basis or a capital basis—to institutions that cannot convince us and prove to us that are running their current operations as efficiently as possible. And they’re going to have to document that.”
In each category, up to ten institutions have begun planning for compliance.
