Virginia Tech and Radford University passed relatively modest tuition increases Thursday, thanks in part to federal stimulus money designed to hold down costs of in-state students.

The executive committee of the Virginia Tech Board of Visitors voted to increase tuition and fees for in-state undergraduates by 5 percent next year, the lowest percentage tuition and fee raise at the university since 2002.

Tuition and fees at Radford will go up 5.6 percent next year for in-state undergraduates. Radford is less expensive than all but one of the state's four-year public colleges.

With the nation and the state in the midst of an economic crisis, state policymakers indicated that universities should try to hold tuition increases to 5 percent this year. That's made difficult by state budget cuts the past three years that have reduced general fund support to state universities by tens of millions of dollars.

Tech President Charles Steger said the cuts can make it difficult to educate students in the typical four years. This year's budget cuts will lead to layoffs and the elimination of programs. There comes a point where fewer course offerings mean students have to spend more time in school, eliminating the savings they get from holding tuition down.

"That's a hidden cost," Tech board member George Nolen said.

As the demand for classes next fall becomes clear, some of the $17.3 million in stimulus money to Tech not used for tuition will be used to keep courses open and faculty employed, Tech spokesman Larry Hincker said.

"What are you going to do?" he asked. "You're either going to increase tuition or you're going to be laying people off."

The executive committee unanimously supported the tuition plans presented by Vice President for Finance Dwight Shelton -- which includes raising tuition for out-of-state undergraduates by 5.1 percent to $21,878 a year -- but the discussion lasted about an hour.

Many of the concerns were similar to those considered by the Radford University Board of Visitors before its vote Thursday: the market for out-of-state students who pay more in tuition than they cost the school to educate, frustration with declining state support and questions about what's to come next year.