Fair Funding and the Future of Higher Education in Virginia Report

September 8, 2022

In September 2022, Partners for College Affordability and Public Trust partnered with Education Reform Now to release a joint policy report on Fair Funding and the Future of Higher Education in Virginia, detailing how a new funding model for Virginia’s public colleges and universities can help incentivize educational and postgraduate outcomes that lead to greater upward social mobility for all students.

Weighing in on a recent study by the State Council of Higher Education for Virginia –the Virginia Cost and Funding Need Study Report –the report highlights the misalignment of current state funding levels for Virginia’s public institutions of higher education with their effectiveness in driving socioeconomic mobility in the commonwealth. For example, George Mason University ranked second best in the state in a recent ranking of colleges and universities’ success in increasing economic mobility, but it receives the smallest amount of money per student of any four-year college. Virginia ranks 41st in the nation on its enrollment rate for students who are eligible for federal Pell Grants, which mainly go to students from households with incomes under $30,000.
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The report coincides with a policy conference hosted by the authors in Richmond. Earlier this week, an op-ed written by the report’s authors was featured in the Richmond Times-Dispatch.
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