Board of Visitors holds first meeting of 2026, covers student support, financial aid, academics
Wednesday, Feb. 4, the College of William and Mary’s board of visitors met for its first session of 2026 in Blow Memorial Hall. The board held a variety of sessions, discussing student support systems, financial aid and academic programs.
Student Experience
Wednesday, Feb. 4, The Committee on the Student Experience heard a presentation from Senior Vice President for Student Affairs and Public Safety Virginia M. Ambler ’88 Ph.D. ’06 describing her office’s work to improve student wellness. With the arrival of transfer students at the beginning of the spring semester, she asserted that it is essential that the College’s orientation process makes new arrivals feel welcome.
“Years of research affirms that experiencing a sense of belonging is a core human need,” Ambler said. “When we are included and feel a sense of belonging, performance improves, motivation is higher and we experience positive physical and mental health outcomes. Belonging is both a value and a key to student success.”
Ambler also discussed the importance of providing students multiple dimensions of growth and success — beyond just the academic — through a rich and welcoming campus community, physical wellness and student engagement.
“We want students to succeed academically, and we want them to succeed as human beings, as young adults who have grown and developed both personally and professionally through their time at William and Mary,” Ambler said. “Student Affairs’ vision for promoting student success focuses on both the individual student and on the environment in which they live and learn. We know that our student success depends on our attending to both the community and the individual.”
Assistant Vice President for Student Success Wilmarie Rodríguez Ed.D. ’21 spoke on Student Success and the office of Academic Wellbeing’s services.
“We know that every student’s journey is rarely a straight line,” Rodríguez said. “Academic Wellbeing exists to support the whole student, recognizing that success is not only about academics or about grades, but it’s also about balance.”
In recent years, Academic Wellbeing has increased its concentration on peer support systems. This includes both tutoring and peer mentorship, both of which seek to decrease the stress and uncertainty in students’ daily lives, as well as building strong habits and life skills.
“Our work starts with individual students,” Rodríguez said. “We do this through one-on-one tutoring, group tutoring, time management consultations, success coaching, body doubling and empowerment programs that provide personalized guidance tailored to the student’s unique goals and needs.”
Rodríguez believes these support services also help to eliminate students’ insecurity and anxiety about asking for help, and make them feel
“Here at William and Mary, we believe that every student belongs here and that every student deserves support,” Rodríguez said. “By normalizing help-seeking, we open the door for all students to access the help they need to thrive so they can grow with confidence.”
Previously, students were required to pay for peer tutoring services. However, in October 2022, the Parents Fund began covering the cost for tutors, making the program free for students. Since then, tutoring usage has increased by 250%, serving 1,200 students. Student coaching usage increased by 10 times. In order to make these programs permanently free without an endowment from the Parents Fund, a $7 million would be necessary.
The committee then spoke with a panel of student tutors and coaches, as well as tutees and coachees, about their experiences with students and the skills they have built through their roles.
“It’s not about the content of any course; it’s more about study strategies,” graduate student and lead coach Skyler Sale ’26 said. “‘How are we gonna approach your syllabus? Do you find the syllabus for your classes? How do we put that into a calendar?’ It’s for students who may struggle with time management, who may struggle with reaching out to professors.”
Coachee Rebecca Fuchs ’26 said the most rewarding part of working with the fund has been finding a place of belonging, particularly as a transfer student.
“I feel like I’ve been able to belong academically and socially as well, not only with my coach, but also with the broader academic and student community as well,” Fuchs said.
Coach Zoie Browder M.Ed. ’26 said most of her work involves collaborating with students in different stages of their college careers.
“Trying to adapt communication, leadership skills to really meet the students where they are, and knowing I’ll take that throughout my future career … It’s just been a great experience, especially watching students succeed,” Browder said.
Academic Affairs
Wednesday, Feb. 4, the Committee on Academic Affairs covered recent developments with regard to applications to the College. Total applications for the class of 2030 increased 3.2%, considerably in early decision and first-generation applicants, and decreased in international applicants.
The committee also discussed a review of the College’s COLL curriculum that is currently in progress. The review group includes faculty from several of the College’s schools and student representatives. The goal of the review is to assess the success of the COLL program through quantitative and qualitative data, and release a draft report by March.
The committee announced that several new graduate certificate programs will be housed in the College of William and Mary Law School and the Raymond A. Mason School of Business, which aim to provide short-term and more cost-effective alternatives to graduate school. Academic Affairs also discussed a potential new Ph.D. in the data science program at the new School of Computing, Data Sciences and Physics, seeking to leverage the College’s recent AI-related developments, interdisciplinary nature and workforce development.
Financial Affairs
Thursday, Feb. 5, Executive Vice President Mike Todd announced that the College signed a contract with Workday Student to implement a new Student Information System, building on the College’s ongoing transition to Workday for faculty and staff. The Committee on Financial Affairs discussed financial aid and the importance of keeping the College as financially accessible as possible. C. Michael Petters MBA ’93 said the College — which does not meet full financial need for out-of-state applicants — may lose students to peer institutions with more robust financial aid.
Petters believes this requires a more strategic pricing strategy rather than a revenue-focused one.
“We’ve got to reset ourselves to understand what the cost is and what our pricing strategy is so that we get the students here that we want to have here, to make up our costs,” Petters said. “So we’re trying today to shift the conversation away from the spreadsheet of ‘this is how much the tuition impacts the budget’ to ‘let’s start to have a discussion about how our price affects our class.’”
