As it continues working to revive lagging enrollment numbers, the board of visitors at the Virginia Military Institute voted Saturday not to increase tuition for the 2025-2026 school year.
The vote took place as part of a lengthy discussion about the future of the state-run senior military college in Lexington, which has received increased scrutiny in recent years for both its Confederate history and for how it has opted to address those concerns.
The in-state cost to attend VMI for 2024-2025 was $32,356, including room and board, military costs such as uniforms, and auxiliary fees. For non-Virginians, the total cost was $63,948.
While tuition will not increase, those total amounts will increase by about $660 per student for 2025-2026, with a board-approved 3% increase on auxiliary fees, which includes medical, athletic and activity fees.
The board has kept tuition flat several times in recent years. In 2020, at the height of the pandemic, it voted for no increase for both in-state and out-of-state students. In 2023, the board approved flat tuition for in-state students.
The institute has about 1,500 students, known as cadets. Enrollment hovered around 1,700 in the years immediately preceding the COVID-19 pandemic. VMI was dealt a second challenge in 2020, when The Washington Post reported on allegations of persistent racism and sexism at the school. That reporting sparked a state investigation into VMI’s culture, which led to changes to promote inclusivity there. VMI was the last public college in Virginia to integrate in 1968, and the last military college in the country to admit women in 1997.
In fall 2022, just 375 students matriculated as freshmen, known at VMI as “rats.” This fall, the institute is projecting 500 freshmen to enroll. VMI, like other universities in Virginia and across the nation, is experiencing a shrinking pool of potential applicants due to a changing population that has fewer college-age students.
The 8-5 vote to freeze tuition and only increase fees was preceded by discussion by board members about the merits of having no tuition increase versus an increase of between 1% and 3%, depending on residency status. While some members argued that keeping tuition flat may show a focus by the board on affordability and college access, others warned that doing so during a time of economic uncertainty may not be fiscally prudent. The impact of new federal and state budget cuts impacting colleges and universities is not yet known.
Increasing tuition for in-state students by 2.5% would have increased their annual cost of attending by about $260. “It’s a small cost, but it’s still big for some people,” Jose Suarez said in support of keeping tuition level. Suarez was appointed to the board a few weeks before the May meeting, which spanned three days.
Board member Hugh Fain, meanwhile, noted that most other schools in VMI’s peer group have raised tuition by a few percentage points. “I don’t think it’s prudent to make a statement” by not raising tuition, he said, if it means VMI would have to make up for that decision later.
Even if the board had raised tuition by 2.5% for all students, VMI would still have an operating deficit of $1.5 million for the upcoming fiscal year. Without raising tuition, VMI can expect a deficit of $2.3 million.
Retired Maj. Gen. Cedric Wins, the outgoing superintendent of VMI, warned the board that without a tuition increase, program spending that was already deferred would be pushed further into the future, and as a result, the academic and military experience on campus would suffer.
Wins’ tenure will end in June after the board voted in February not to renew his contract despite awarding him annual salary bonuses for performance. Wins, VMI’s first Black superintendent, has led the school since fall 2020. The board passed a resolution on Saturday recognizing his service.
The board also voted to cap its contribution to the college’s athletic budget at $750,000 for fiscal 2026, rather than approve a $1.28 million subsidy planned for the upcoming year. The board will reevaluate that contribution in January. If the athletic department is able to project a reduction of its budget by $500,000 for fiscal 2027, the board may increase its funding to $1 million for fiscal 2026.
The reduced subsidy puts the bulk of support for VMI athletics on the VMI Foundation and Keydet Club. The athletic department has projected incoming money — support and revenue — of nearly $11 million for the upcoming fiscal year, with about three quarters of that coming from revenue such as cadet fees, ticket sales and NCAA revenue sharing.
Fully funding the subsidy as planned would require the board to dip into institute reserves, a move not all board members were comfortable with. But making cuts to the athletic department could impact its ability to recruit and retain its NCAA Division I athletes.
The board meeting also ushered in new leadership.
The board elected James Inman as president. Inman, a director at Afton Chemical Co. in Richmond, was appointed in July 2023 by Gov. Glenn Youngkin. The VMI alumnus was the institute’s chief of staff from 2013 through 2021. He also served in the U.S. Army for 27 years.
The board of visitors has experienced substantial turnover in recent months. After two Youngkin appointees were rejected by the General Assembly, the governor made two new appointments just a few days prior to the vote not to renew Wins’ contract. In the weeks following that vote, two board members, including president John Adams, resigned.
Interim president Teddy Gottwald will return to the role of vice president in July. The board has three vice presidents, but two positions were open before Saturday’s election due to board resignations. Joining Gottwald as vice presidents will be Kate Todd and Ernest Edgar.
The board of visitors is in the process of selecting a new superintendent. Dallas Clark, deputy superintendent for finance and support, was named acting superintendent for any gap that may occur after Wins’ departure.