WASHINGTON (Map, News) - George Mason University’s governing board voted Wednesday to raise tuition and fees for Virginia undergraduate students by nearly 10 percent to $7,512 in the upcoming academic year.

The Northern Virginia school’s decision will help pay for professor salary increases, more scholarships and additional spots for students, officials said. The average student will face an extra $672 for expenses, as colleges across the country raise the price tag for education. Financial aid also will be increased.

“As one of Virginia’s fastest-growing institutions of higher learning, George Mason must have its needs balanced against the realities of maintaining the highest level of standards,” said Ernst Volgenau, director of the Board of Visitors.

“The Board of Visitors has a responsibility to ensure the teaching and research mission at the university is funded. In our judgment, the proposed state funding was inadequate to support this core mission.”

While students appreciate the demand to improve academic programs and continue to grow to serve the population, the higher cost presents problems, said Zack Golden, the student body president.

“It’s getting really hard the last few years. Tuition is going through the roof,” he said, adding the tuition increase is “one of those things there’s not much we can do about.”

Out-of-state tuition and fees will increase about 10 percent as well.

The increase followed an 11 percent increase earlier this week at Virginia Tech and a 9.4 percent increase for in-state students at the University of Virginia last week.

dgenz@dcexaminer.com