EVMS raises tuition and OKs budget for 2009-10

NORFOLK

Tuition at Eastern Virginia Medical School will increase by 7.5 percent this fall for in-state students in a budget approved Tuesday.

Out-of-state students will shoulder a 9.5 percent increase.

Mark Babashanian, vice president of administration and finance at EVMS, said the increases are mainly due to the poor economy, which spurred state funding cutbacks as well as interest earning losses.

The school's budget for 2009-10 will be $189 million, $13 million more than this year's spending. That includes 25 new faculty positions.

EVMS expects to enroll 795 students this fall, which includes medical students and those in other health professions, such as physician assistants.

Tuition for medical students will be $25,779 for state residents and $48,539 for out-of-state residents.

Other local and state schools are raising rates, though some have used federal stimulus money to offset increases.

Tuition and fees for in-state undergraduate students at Norfolk State University, for instance, are going up by 5.6 percent. Old Dominion University's in-state undergrad students will have a 5.4 percent increase. The University of Virginia School of Medicine is increasing tuition by 5.4 percent for in-state students and 4.1 percent for out-of-state students.

At Tuesday's meeting, the EVMS board also extended the contract of the school's president, Harry Lester, for three years. His salary of $290,700 will stay the same. Faculty and staff will not receive raises in this budget, either.

Lester, 63, took over at EVMS in March 2005. Dr. J. Sumner Bell III had just resigned after a consultant's report said the school needed major improvements in its finances and management if it expected to do well at an upcoming visit by an accreditation agency.

Lester has strengthened relationships with key community partners, such as Sentara Healthcare and ODU.

More state funding has come as well, such as $59 million legislators approved last year for a new education and research building.

Lester and other school officials have argued that the school, which has a unique private-public structure, is underfunded by the state when compared with Virginia's other public medical schools, the University of Virginia and Virginia Commonwealth University.

EVMS Board Rector Wayne Wilbanks said the relationships Lester has honed during the past four years have brought in at least $10 million in additional funding a year. "He's brought institutional structure to the school," he said.

Lester said his goals are to oversee the opening of the school's $80 million building - construction will begin this fall - and to strengthen relationships with community partners. He also hopes to attract more state funding for the school.

Elizabeth Simpson, (757) 446-2635, elizabeth.simpson@pilotonline.com