Apr. 13--Under a policy approved Saturday, the University of Virginia may notify a student's parents if their child has mental illness and is deemed a danger to himself or others.

UVa's Board of Visitors unanimously endorsed the policy that formally authorizes UVa to contact parents if there is a "substantial likelihood" in the near future that their child will harm himself or others, as evidenced by the student's recent behavior or any other relevant information.

Further, the policy authorizes UVa to notify parents if their child is apparently suffering from "a lack of capacity to protect himself from harm or to provide for his basic human needs."

However, the university will not contact parents if the mentally ill student's physician or clinical psychologist states that such notification likely would cause the student to harm himself or another student.

All public colleges and universities in Virginia are required to approve such a parental notification policy, as per legislation unanimously passed by the General Assembly earlier this year and signed by Gov. Timothy M. Kaine in March.

The measure's chief sponsor, Del. Rob Bell, R-Albemarle, said it was "great news" that UVa has moved to help prevent cases that could potentially echo the Virginia Tech shootings, in which student Seung Hui Cho killed 32 students and faculty members before taking his own life. The one-year anniversary of the Tech massacre is Wednesday.

"I'm very pleased UVa has taken such quick action," Bell said. "It really shows how colleges like UVa have led the way on campus safety."

UVa's vice president for student affairs, Patricia M. Lampkin, said that UVa already notifies parents of potentially serious situations involving students with mental illness. The board's action Saturday, she said, underscores the importance of continuing that practice.

"It is not a big shift away from how we have performed before," she said. "But this formalizes the policy."

In other business, the Board of Visitors increased the cost of UVa's student meal plans by an average of 4.9 percent. This academic year, 8,325 students have purchased a meal plan.

The board also increased tuition for graduate students and raised mandatory student fees. For in-state students, the fees will cost $2,132 in 2008-09, up from $1,825 in 2007-08. For out-of-state students, the fees will total $2,350 in 2008-09, up from $2,060.

The board did not set tuition rates for undergraduate students for the coming academic year. UVa is waiting for Kaine to approve the two-year state budget, which includes a tuition incentive fund that promises public universities more money if they hold down tuition increases.

The board's executive committee will set the tuition rates in the coming weeks. Leonard W. Sandridge, UVa's executive vice president and chief operating officer, said he expects next year's tuition to fall within the range listed in the university's six-year plan.

The plan projects in-state tuition and fees to rise by anywhere from 8.5 percent to 22.1 percent next year. For out-of-state students, tuition and fees are projected to increase between 6.6 percent and 10.5 percent.

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Last updated: 05/01/2008 - 03:06 PM