In a report released Sunday, the subcommittee for higher education released a proposal it says will increase access to college, hold down costs and enhance the quality of education.

It is the latest sign that the cost of college in Virginia could rise after largely staying flat the past three years.

Thanks to incentives from state lawmakers, an acknowledgement that many families were struggling because of the pandemic and an influx of cash from the federal government, the bill for a college education hasn’t increased much lately in Virginia.

The average in-state student pays roughly $13,000 for tuition and mandatory fees and $12,000 for room and board per year. Families pay half the cost of a college education, and the state pays the other half, according to the State Council of Higher Education for Virginia.

Though the pandemic hit colleges hard, Virginia’s public colleges have received $1.5 billion in federal pandemic relief funds, with more than one-third of that going directly to students. Those funds enabled most schools to keep tuition flat for a third straight year in 2021.

But tuition hikes could return this year. The University of Virginia already announced a 4.7% increase beginning this fall and a 3.7% jump next year. The school cited increases in operating costs across a wide range of sectors. Last month, inflation rose 7%, a 39-year high.

Virginia Commonwealth University hasn’t decided on tuition rates for the upcoming year yet, said Karol Gray, the school’s chief financial officer. The average cost of attendance at state colleges shot up a staggering 40% between 2009 and 2018.

In a year when the state can offer so much new funding, colleges shouldn’t raise their tuition, said Stacie Gordon of the Partners for College Affordability and Public Trust.

“Coming out of a pandemic, students and families should not have to spend more for the same education, especially if universities receive a substantial boost in state support,” Gordon said.

In 2019, legislators offered funding in exchange for a promise that schools not raise their costs. All 15 public schools took the General Assembly up on its offer.

It cost the state $52 million in new funding to keep tuition flat. This year, the House has proposed $240 million in new funding but will still tolerate tuition hikes.

The idea of keeping tuition flat gained at least one supporter in the House. Del. David Reid, D-Loudoun, proposed funding colleges with $55 million this year and next year but the condition that only colleges that decline to raise tuition would get their share of the money.