Gov. Ralph Northam’s pledge to boost funding for the state’s two, public black universities — assuming the General Assembly agrees — will help counteract decades of state neglect and provide financial flexibility to campus administrators. What it won’t do is solve the ongoing conundrum facing historically black colleges and universities:...
Democrats will weigh free community college, transparency measures, among other education initiatives
Mechelle Hankerson -
Republicans made college affordability a priority in their time as the majority party and used those successes — like last year’s tuition freeze — in campaigns.This year, the new Democratic majority will consider the historic undertaking of making community college free for some students and decide if some of...
A Republican senator wants students to approve tuition increases before governing boards do
Mechelle Hankerson -
A proposal from a Republican senator would require student approval before a public college or university approves a tuition raise.Sen. Richard Stuart, R-Stafford, wants tuition hikes to go to the students who will have to pay for it before a governing board votes. His legislation, which he introduced last...
The governor wants to give Virginia’s public HBCUs extra money. Why do they need it?
Mechelle Hankerson -
Virginia’s historically black colleges and universities have some of the lowest four-and five-year graduation rates in the state, falling well below 50% at most of the schools.It’s an outcome driven in part by decades of inadequate funding for the large populations of low-income, first-generation and minority students the institutions...
Proposed pay raise would still leave the average Virginia teacher salary below national average
Mechelle Hankerson -
Teachers earning average pay in Virginia will get nearly $1,500 closer to earning the national average teacher salary under Gov. Ralph Northam’s budget proposal.Northam has proposed using $145 million for a 3% teacher pay raise. It's part of a $1.2 billion package of K-12 education initiatives the governor is...
WASHINGTON — A long-simmering feud between U.S. Education Secretary Betsy DeVos and congressional Democrats over student loan forgiveness is heating up as several hundred thousand borrowers continue to wait for help on loans they claim were fraudulent.DeVos narrowly avoided a congressional subpoena earlier this month after a lengthy fight...
The state board that oversees community colleges will explore what on-campus or nearby student housing could look like at the system’s 23 schools.Chancellor Glenn DuBois, who is in charge of leading the community college system as it anticipates a decline in enrollment, said he thinks housing would draw more...
What’s the average teacher salary in Virginia? Depends who does the math, lawmakers find.
Mechelle Hankerson -
NORFOLK — To help lawmakers tackle a bipartisan goal of raising teacher pay, state budget staff tried to untangle for them exactly what the average teacher's pay is in the state.The takeaway: There are different ways to calculate that number, but it’s clear some districts fall far below any...
Fixing the formula: How the state plans to get more financial aid to the students who need it most
Mechelle Hankerson -
New changes to the formula that determines how much financial aid money colleges get from the state will redirect money to low-income students. The State Council of Higher Education for Virginia allocates aid money from the state to each public college and university, which is then responsible for awarding it...
$1 billion in state funding to Virginia universities aimed at creating workers for Amazon, other tech firms
Mechelle Hankerson -
ETTRICK — To fulfill Amazon’s need for workers with advanced technology skills as well as those of other tech employers, the state is investing $1 billion over 20 years at Virginia colleges and universities. The state will spend the money on schools that have committed to producing a certain number...