When you sign up to go to college, you are not only charged for your education but also for the experience. The college experience may have fees you are not aware of.
The WTKR News 3 Investigative Team talked to students and education experts about a particular fee—the "intercollegiate athletic fee"—that’s costing students thousands of dollars.
According to Virginia law, student fees are assessed by an institution against a student and used to support any of the institution's intercollegiate athletics programs.
However, many of the students News 3 spoke to didn’t realize they were being charged an athletic fee.
“Tuition is already expensive, and we pay fees and sometimes, we don’t even actually know what they go towards,” said Taylor Johnson, a student at Old Dominion University.
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One student gave us a copy of her tuition bill which listed a transportation fee of $63, a student health fee of $160, an ID card fee of $4 and a technology fee of $180.
“ODU has a lot of unexpected fees,” said Maliyah Megginson, an ODU student. "I know we pay for a technology fee and transportation fee. I can understand as a freshman the transportation fee, but I’m an upperclassman. I drive my own car. I don’t really understand what I’m paying those extra fees for."
Under state code, the State Council of Higher Education for Virginia collects and publishes tuition and fees for public colleges and universities, including the intercollegiate athletic fee.
Christopher Newport University explained in a statement how the athletic fee is used: “It is part of our Comprehensive Fee and funds coaches, travel, debt service on facilities and related costs.”
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Tom Allison is the Assistant Director for Finance & Innovation for the State Council of Higher Education for Virginia. He said the public needs to understand that much of the listed tuition is the sticker price for the various colleges and universities. He said many students get discounts for tuition through various scholarships and grants.
When it comes to the highest athletic fees, Virginia Military Institute tops the list of public state schools, charging over $3,900, according to the State Council of Higher Education for Virginia. ODU charges students a little over $2,000 per year.
We talked to students who said they didn’t know about the athletic fee. Some said they enjoy many aspects of college life, but just wish the fees were more transparent.
Thomas Spear, a student at ODU, said he likes going to the sporting events at his college and understands the need to charge a fee.
“It’s not, in my opinion, unreasonable,” said Spear. "I just think it needs to be talked about more. I think I’m fine with it. I like the sports teams here. I love going to games and stuff like that."
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He said he wished the information was more easily accessible and communicated to the students.
“The state only supports direct education and instruction, so the revenue has to come from somewhere. So, it's either through self-supporting revenues or through student fees,” said Allison.
James Koch, a professor at ODU, is the former president of the school. He said he agrees that schools could be more communicative about the fees.
“They ought to be much more revealing about what they're charging students and why,” said Koch.
He said Virginia schools are more dependent upon student fees compared to other schools across the nation.
However, colleges and universities have different ways of accounting, making it difficult to compare how schools collect and use the fees across the state and around the nation.
“I'd like a make it clear that I'm not picking on any specific institution here,” said Koch. "This is just the way things happen in higher education."
“One of the strengths of Virginia's system of higher education is that institutions are relatively independent,” said Allison. "They have discretion to set tuition and fees."
Experts say when picking a school, do your research.
“Students and families should look for the bottom line of total required tuition and fees, as well as their financial aid package,” said Allison.
Below are statements regarding intercollegiate athletic fees from several public institutions in Virginia:
Virginia Military Institute:
In Virginia, state funding is not to be used to support Division I athletics. VMI enjoys the benefits of competing in Division I athletics, which are a valuable part of the VMI educational and leadership experience, with approximately 1/3 of the Corps of Cadets participating in NCAA athletics. VMI remains committed to competing at the Division I level of competition. The larger athletic fee at VMI is a direct result of a smaller student body (approximately 1,600), compared to many larger institutions with significantly larger enrollment levels.
In FY23, athletic fee revenues provided just 38% of the total athletic budget at VMI. When compared to other Division I institutions in Virginia, athletic fee revenues can provide as much as 70% of total athletic budget. At VMI, athletic fees, along with private funding, go toward operating expenses, salaries, travel, equipment, officiating, etc. An important and significant differentiator is no athletic fees are used to provide scholarship funding. Funding for scholarships is the result of the investment of private funding underscoring the value of athletics as a core element of VMI’s mission.
Prospective cadets and the public can find itemized tuition and fee information on the VMI website, including the athletic fee. The webpage also includes a link to the SCHEV Tuition and Fees Report, so that information is readily available too, as prospective cadets and the public evaluate the costs of education in Virginia. Noteworthy, cadets are provided free access to all athletic events, some of which are Corps-wide events, meaning all attend.
Regarding the increase you mentioned over the last year, the VMI Board of Visitors approved a tuition and fee increase of 3% for the 2023-24 academic year.
VMI remains committed to our mission which includes a focus on providing leadership opportunities for cadets across a spectrum of opportunities in academics, military, and athletics. These opportunities are central the cadet leadership development journey a defining characteristic of the VMI cadet experience.
James Madison University:
“The athletics fee listed on the report for James Madison is higher than most other schools in Virginia, but it is important to note that non-uniformity in accounting practices from institution to institution makes it nearly impossible to compare one university to another in how it collects fees and how it manages costs like internal university services, facility operations, etc. At the end of the day, James Madison’s total cost to attend the university (tuition+fees) ranks on the lower end of the 14 Division I universities in the state while routinely ranking near the top of national publications for “Best Overall Value.” This combination of low overall cost and high value has led to JMU’s immense growth in popularity as the most applied-to university in Virginia (over 40,000).”
Longwood University:
Longwood proudly offers a 16-team Division I athletics program supporting more than 300 student athletes. It runs far more efficiently than most Division I athletics programs, adds to enrollment, and is a source of great community pride and involvement, including this season’s NCAA Men’s Basketball Tournament appearance.
The athletics budget is generally supported by Longwood’s comprehensive fee, which is listed on student bills and supports a broad range of student activities. It also supports financial aid for student-athletes. Because of their own financial aid, many students don’t pay the full comprehensive fee – it’s a list price. We reduced the fee last year and hope to reduce it further thanks to growing philanthropic support.
Inevitably the comprehensive fee portion that we are required to identify as related to athletics is higher per-student at mid-sized institutions like Longwood than at giant public universities. What matters for families is overall affordability and value. Longwood ranks highly in both regards.
William & Mary:
William & Mary student-athletes are an integral component of the university’s community, and William & Mary is committed to helping them prepare for successful lives and careers. William & Mary athletes rank among the best [tribeathletics.com] academically in the country. The Tribe has produced the highest Federal Graduation Rate (88%) among all Division I public institutions for 18 of the last 19 years according to the NCAA’s annual graduation rate report.
University tuition and fees, including the athletics fee, are detailed [wm.edu]on the William & Mary website (fee chart here is listed per semester). Tuition bills include the link to this detailed list and it is also included in multiple other university communications (Tribe guide, student eBill, etc.).
While athletic fees provide funding for both athletic operations and facilities, private support typically makes up 15%-20% of the department's annual operating budget and each team has individual fundraising goals. During the All In campaign, annual dollars increased by more than 9% and annual donors by more than 26%. Additionally, the Athletics Department receives no state funding.
Fee adjustments made for the 2023-24 academic year were necessary due to increased costs related to inflation. Overall, in FY’24 William & Mary had to balance a budget gap of more than $23M resulting from inflation-related expenses and state-mandated costs.
William & Mary is a leading university and athletics is an important part of the world-class educational experience we provide. We do so while maintaining the lowest average personal net cost of all Virginia four-year public universities \for low-to middle-income Virginia families earning $110,000 or less annually. Net cost includes total price after scholarships and aid. This net cost reflects the university’s commitment to accessibility and affordability as well as its dedication to helping our students and their families manage costs while still preserving and advancing the quality education our students come here to receive.
For some added context and background, William & Mary was one of just three public colleges and universities in the state to hold tuition flat in FY23 and we set a statewide record that year for holding tuition flat for in-state students for five years. That effort was among the longest efforts in the country to hold tuition flat.
A full report that lists the various fees and information about each public institution can be found here.
