Students walk by the James Branch Cabell Library on the campus of Virginia Commonwealth University in Richmond. Tuition costs at VCU have more than doubled since the recession. (Credit: AP Photo / Steve Helber)

Across Virginia, the cost of higher education is skyrocketing. Michael Pope is digging into the numbers.

A spokesperson for the College of William and Mary noted that the school offers the W&M Promise.  The program is a guaranteed tuition model for in-state students that locks in tuition at the freshman year. The program has been in place since 2012.

Many of the state’s four-year public universities, including Virginia Tech, have recently announced hikes in tuition. (Credit: Paul Kurlak / Creative Commons)

Ask voters what issues they are concerned about on the campaign trail, and one that comes up again and again is the cost of college debt. Michael Pope reports that’s because of a sharp increase in the cost of college.