Budget cuts lead to tuition hike
By Sarah Barbee
Asst. News Editor
Many students were devastated to see the tuition increase on their bill for this semester.
"It's already difficult just paying for college, as is. I can understand the need for the increase, but it's tough on student's wallets, and I hope it doesn't go up much higher," said commuter student Patty Harrison.
The University of North Carolina at Pembroke's tuition increases of $250 for 2010-11 and $218 for 2011- 12 were approved by UNC President Erskine Bowles July 14.
UNCP already had a $113 campus- based tuition increase and a $41 student fee increase in place for 2010-11.
The increase represents an increase of 11.05 percent this year in tuition and student fees combined.
Of the tuition increase, 20 percent is set aside to help students who receive financial aid.
It costs approximately $10,000 annually to attend UNCP for a fulltime, undergraduate student from North Carolina who lives on campus with a meal plan.
The legislature authorized each UNC campus to implement an additional tuition increase to help lessen the impact of UNC's total management flexibility cuts and protect the academic core.
According to a university press release, after three years of budget cuts and reversions, UNCP officials and the Board of Trustees believed that the quality of academic programs would suffer without a tuition increase.
This increase will partially offset mandated budget reductions to UNCP of $2.5 million in North Carolina's new budget.
North Carolina's budget would cut UNCP's budget by approximately $2.5 million or 4 percent. The budget also contained an option to raise tuition up to $750.
UNCP now has the third lowest tuition increase for 2010-11 among all UNC universities for resident undergraduates.
Only four of the 16 UNC institutions had lower tuition and fees than UNCP for 2009-10.
