Board of Visitors approves 4.28% Tuition and Fees Increase for Academic Year 2014-15

During its May 9 quarterly meeting on campus, the Radford University (RU) Board of Visitors (BOV) approved tuition and fees for the 2014-2015 academic year.

To sustain the strategic objectives that Radford University has undertaken to enhance its high-quality, student-focused education, the BOV voted an across-the-board 4.28 percent tuition and fees increase for the coming academic year. The vote bolsters the university's efforts to provide additional need-based financial aid and supports development of additional programs of distinction and high-impact educational initiatives. The BOV approved tuition and mandatory fee increases totaling $384 and $905 respectively for in-state and out-of-state undergraduate students. Graduate student tuition and mandatory fees will increase $417 for residents and $814 for non-residents.

Among the factors considered by the board in its decision were a series of cost drivers: mandated fringe benefit and health insurance rate changes, faculty promotion and tenure agreements, contractual escalators and leases, implementation of Constituent Relationship Management systems for student recruitment/retention and advancement/alumni development, and costs associated with operation and maintenance of new facilities.

“The decision by the BOV reaffirms Radford University’s commitment to the student-focused educational experience for which RU is known and will continue to provide students with a high-quality education at an exceptional value," said President Penelope W. Kyle.

The university's commitment to providing its students an education that is within reach financially has resulted in national recognition. Radford University was selected as a Top 75 U.S. public university in both the 2013 and 2014 editions of The Princeton Review’s Best Value College rankings. RU has also been recognized as a "Best Bang for the Buck" institution by Washington Monthly magazine in 2013. RU was ranked 15th of 152 U.S. universities categorized as master's institutions, and 44th of the 349 top-ranked colleges and universities in all categories. Radford University was the highest-ranked Virginia university in both categories. For seven of the last eight years, Radford was named by The Princeton Review as one of 138 institutions in its "Best in the Southeast" section of its "2014 Best Colleges: Region by Region" edition.

May 12, 2014