State funding is used only for academic programs and not for auxiliary enterprises such as intercollegiate athletics.

But all students are required to subsidize athletics even though the programs do not directly benefit the majority of students, the report said. The mandatory charges averaged 12.4 percent of tuition and fees in fiscal 2013, ranging from 2.4 percent at Virginia Tech to 23.6 percent at Norfolk State.

Students also pay substantial amounts for services and programs that do not involve athletics or academics. JLARC suggests that the assembly require schools to complete by next November an evaluation of activities funded by mandatory fees, in addition to its recommendation for limits on how much students can be charged for athletics.

The growth of auxiliary activities was the primary driver in spending increases by the schools, the report concludes. From 2005 to 2012, $3.4 billion was spent on instructional and research facilities. The cost for non-academic auxiliary facilities was $3.5 billion from 2002 to 2012.

While state bonds are used to build academic facilities, institutional capital debt generally finances auxiliary projects, with the debt repaid by student fees. Statewide, students in fiscal 2013 paid an average of $689 in fees to pay institutional debt service.