Tomorrow (April 22), the College of William & Mary will hold a public meeting to discuss “potential” increases in tuition and fees. The notice ends with the following paragraph:

With revenue generated from tuition and fees — in combination with general funds from the Commonwealth of Virginia, budget reallocation strategies, strategic partnerships and philanthropy — William & Mary remains committed to research, affordability and career readiness and supporting the people and place that makes these goals possible.

This is a tell. Even while announcing a legally required public meeting focused on affordability and tuition, they have to lead with “research.”

And while we understand that a simple public notice need not be an encyclopedia, we believe W&M should have different priorities. What about community? Integrity? The liberal arts? Citizenship? That’s just off the top of our heads here at the Gale. If you have your own ideas, share them with W&M through this form.

William & Mary has long charged the most expensive in-state tuition in Virginia. SCHEV keeps detailed reports available on its website going back to 2020-21, but our recollection extends beyond that.

It’s worth noting that W&M (along with other high-profile institutions like Virginia Tech and UVA) receive a reduced level of state support compared with what a Christopher Newport or Radford would get. President emeritus Tim Sullivan — maybe the best ever to do it — secured this in the early 2000s. His successor, Gene Nichol, established Gateway William & Mary, which aimed to help students from low-income families reach campus affordably. President Reveley established the William & Mary Promise to keep costs predictable for struggling families. But the tuition climb has nevertheless continued.

We’re not experts on collegiate tuition. It’s very high and it’s keeping a lot of people out of their educations. Along with housing and healthcare, it’s also a cost that was rising steadily long before attention turned to eggs and memory chips. That said, William & Mary probably does need to charge a little more than its peers if it plans to compete with big state universities while only enrolling a third of their students.

But if W&M expects today’s students to pay the insane bills of the late 2020s, can’t we sell them on something more inspiring — something truer to W&M — than “research” and “career readiness”? Or is that enough to inspire us to give next week during One Tribe One Day?