Over the summer, the Virginia Military Survivors and Dependents Education Program got a lot of attention. And it will remain in the spotlight when a report on the program’s growth is presented to lawmakers next month.
But it’s not the only state-mandated tuition waiver in the commonwealth. In fact, there are a few different places in state code that exempt certain groups from paying tuition — including senior citizens.
After VMSDEP recipients, seniors are the second largest group utilizing state-mandated tuition waivers, according to data from the State Council of Higher Education for Virginia.
More than 900 seniors were enrolled in part-time classes during the 2022-23 academic year. That includes 427 at Northern Virginia Community College, 316 at George Mason University and 103 at Tidewater Community College.
Most seniors enrolled in classes are studying on a part-time basis; 17 seniors were enrolled full-time statewide that year.
The tuition waiver applies to seniors taking classes both for academic credit and for those “auditing” classes for fun, to learn a new skill or to stay mentally astute.
According to state law, low-income seniors ages 60 and over can enroll for free in courses for academic credit. The annual income limit for this is $23,850.
But seniors who don’t meet the income limit can still take college classes for free, just not for credit. They can audit up to three courses per semester — and there’s no limit on the number of courses seniors can take.
Lee Andes, interim director of finance policy for SCHEV, said auditing a class means “you’re allowed to sit in and listen to the lecture” but not for academic credit.
“You can’t apply that to a college degree or transfer,” Andes said.
Lori Hunter and John Moore are among the seniors taking advantage of the free tuition at Virginia Commonwealth University. About 77 senior citizens enrolled part-time at VCU in the 2022-23 school year.
Hunter is auditing a course on race and racism, as well as an intermediate French class this fall; they’re the first classes she’s taking as a senior citizen. She turned 60 a few years ago, but didn’t immediately sign up for classes because of the pandemic.
Hunter said she signed up for the race and racism course because she knows the professor and was intrigued by the material, in part, because the university at one time planned to require the class for all students. As for French, Hunter said she used to be fluent after learning the language in high school and college.
“By the end of this year, I'll be fluent again,” Hunter said. “I've got some friends that are catching me up.”
Hunter hopes to eventually move to Senegal, where French is the official language. She feels like the free classes are deserved.
“We survived,” Hunter said. “You know, no matter what your race was, Virginia was not an easy place to be, and just surviving to be over 60 years old is amazing.”
According to information about the program on VCU’s website, “senior citizens will be admitted to courses only on a space-available basis after all tuition-paying students have been accommodated unless a credit-seeking senior citizen has completed 75% of their degree requirements. After meeting this requirement, senior citizens can enroll in courses at the same time as other tuition-paying students.”
John Moore will turn 81 in November and meets the income requirement to take free classes for credit. He started last summer and said getting up to speed on technology has proven difficult. He said he was the only student with a textbook in his biology class last fall, which he decided to repeat.
“I want to be on the same understanding as all these bright 18-year-old students, because there's some really bright people here,” Moore said. “I haven't shown that I'm on that level, but maybe I'll catch up before I'm 90.”
This summer, he took a poetry class and is now taking an American Sign Language class. Years ago, he worked in a group home for people with disabilities and wished he’d known the language then to better communicate with a woman who was deaf.
He’s also amazed at how much tuition costs compared to when he graduated from VCU with an English degree in 1973. He said at that time, a semester only cost about $600. He added that VCU sends letters explaining the real cost of the classes he’s enrolled in now as a senior citizen.
“It's a wonderful gift to live so long to find out the real value of things,” Moore said.
Military and law enforcement waivers
Another state code section spells out that any commissioned officer in the Virginia National Guard or the Virginia Defense Force can study one of a handful of topics for free for up to 10 months: military science, emergency management, emergency services, public safety and disaster management.
It’s called the VACO program, and some colleges detail the requirements on their websites.
State code also mandates free college tuition for the spouse and children of law enforcement officers and firefighters killed in the line of duty. Included under that umbrella are campus police officers, special forest wardens, special agents of the Virginia Alcoholic Beverage Control Authority, correctional facility officers, sheriffs, the Virginia National Guard and the Virginia Defense Force.
Law enforcement advocacy groups, including We Back Blue, have also advocated against the reversed changes to the VMSDEP waiver program. The limits — which were ultimately approved then repealed — would’ve applied to all state tuition waiver programs.
Andes said there’s also sometimes an overlap between law enforcement and military communities.
“A lot of our veterans may retire from the military and go into the police force or firefighting,” Andes said.
