Va.'s prepaid tuition plan opens Tuesday for students through 9th grade

It will cost parents about 4 percent more than it did last year to prepay a year of tuition and fees at a four-year state university, according to officials at the Virginia College Savings Plan.

The Virginia Prepaid Education Program will open Tuesday to new participants in ninth grade and younger. The enrollment period ends March 31. The contracts are priced according to the beneficiaries' age and the number of contract years purchased.

Officials at the Virginia College Savings Plan, which administers the program, said Monday that one year of prepaid in-state tuition and mandatory fees for a four-year public college for a newborn, for example, will cost $11,878. That's up about 4 percent from $11,385 last year.

For high school freshmen, the lump-sum payment for one year is $11,083, up 4 percent as well.

The state plan bases prices primarily on projected future tuition at Virginia's public colleges and a long-term rate of return.

Virginians who save for higher education in any state college savings plan are eligible for up to $4,000 per account per year on their 2009 state tax returns, double the amount of the previously allowed deduction.