FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE
July 18, 2024
This year’s $400 million investment in higher education, completed by the General Assembly today with the Governor’s support, is fantastic news for every student, family, and business in the Commonwealth.
When we invest in higher education we grow our economy.
As CNBC recently stated, Virginia is the top state for business chiefly because we are the best state for education. Making college more affordable and providing paid internships that lead students to stay in Virginia for long-term employment are core strategies for preserving our Commonwealth’s competitive advantage as the nation’s talent and opportunity leader.
On behalf of the business and higher education leaders who make up the Virginia Business Higher Education Council (VBHEC) and the thousands of students, parents, and other grassroots supporters across the Commonwealth who comprise our “Growth4VA” coalition, I want to express our profound appreciation to the General Assembly and Governor for their forward-looking budget actions related to higher education this year. This includes today’s very positive action on tuition waivers for military survivors and dependents, a program cherished by the families of our brave men and women who have sacrificed so much for all of us.
In January, business leaders representing VBHEC came to the Capitol to personally urge lawmakers to invest in making college more affordable for all Virginians and in creating more paid internships and affordable pathways to full-time Virginia-based jobs. High on our college affordability agenda was our request that the state fully fund the cost of the Virginia Military Survivors and Dependents Education Program (VMSDEP), so that other Virginia students do not bear the cost of providing these important benefits to those who have suffered significant injury or family loss in service to our country.
With today’s action, the General Assembly has completed work on a biennial budget that now will provide more than $400 million in increased higher education funding. The budget includes support to expand paid internships, increase student financial aid and admission of Pell-eligible students, support HBCU’s, keep tuition down by funding higher education operations, and—thanks to today’s bipartisan cooperation—significantly cover VMSDEP costs.
It is fitting that today’s final action on the higher education budget comes in the same month that Virginia regained its #1 position as the Top State for Business, with CNBC declaring that the “state’s public education system is the best in the country” and “Virginia’s biggest competitive strength.” CNBC specifically cited the importance of Virginia’s recent investments in higher education.
The business leaders and college presidents who comprise VBHEC are deeply grateful for the bipartisan support for higher education evident in Virginia today, and we are deeply committed to maintaining the competitive advantage supplied by our top ranked higher education system. With nearby competitors such as North Carolina, Tennessee, Georgia, and Maryland all providing substantial state support for higher education, this is no time for Virginians to rest on our laurels. But it is time for us to express a hearty “thank you” to our General Assembly members and their staffs, and to the Governor and his team, for putting partisan politics aside and providing Virginia’s young people affordable access to the nation’s best education and career opportunities while staying right here in our Commonwealth.