Tuition and fees increase next fall

By Dustin Porter
Electronic News Editor
Feb 25, 2010

Tuition and fees for each of the campuses in the University of North Carolina system will increase next fall, but by how much is still up to the state legislators.

The Board of Governors (BOG) of the University of North Carolina approved the tuition and fee rate increases submitted by each institution for the 2010-11 academic year at its Feb. 12 meeting.

President Erskine Bowles is expected to ask the legislature to approve the BOG plan.

Tuition
According to the University of North Carolina Board of Governors Policy Discussion document dated Jan. 7 provided by the UNCP Division of Business Affairs, UNCP asked for a 5.5 percent increase in tuition of $113 that would make regular tuition rates $2,173 for resident undergraduates beginning next fall. Out of state would be a 1 percent increase to $11,380. Graduate resident would increase 5.2 percent to $2,272 and out of state by 1 percent to $11,599.

In contrast, other UNC institutions asked for a 6.5 percent increase in their tuition, the maximum campuses were told they could request.

Fees
The document shows UNCP asked for a 2.9 percent increase in general fees of $41 that would bring fees to $1,466. General fees include Athletics, Student Activities, Educational and Technology and Health Services fees. In contrast, the average increase asked by all campuses was 4.5 percent.

The $41 UNCP request is composed of $18 for Athletics, $14 for Student Activities, and $9 for Education and Technology. Unlike some other campuses, UNCP asked for no increase in its health fee.

The North Carolina General Assembly in 2009 eliminated the Education Access Reward North Carolina (EARN) scholarship program for 2010-2011, a potential $4,000 per student for next year. The document reported the phasing out of the program this year “has had a negative effect on needy students and on the campuses' ability to meet students' needs.”

On the other hand, the General Assembly raised the maximum Pell Grant more than $600, from $4,731 to $5,350 per student.

The BOG proposed increasing the Need- Based Financial Aid program from $3,700 to $3,800.

Competing plans

The document points out the 2009 General Assembly set tuition for UNC campuses for 2010- 11 by increasing all existing rates by the lesser of $200 or 8 percent and that revenue would be deposited into the state’s general fund.

However, UNC General Administration instructed the campuses to follow the campus-based initiatives established previously by BOG.

Those are the numbers reported above.

Under the Legislative Plan, it is estimated that UNCP’s total tuition revenues would be $782,961. Under the BOG Plan, they would be $754,388, a difference of $28,573.

However, under the Legislative Plan all the revenue would not necessarily come to the campus.

It may not be known until the legislature passes the 2010-11 budget closer to July which plan will be adopted.

According to SGA President Arjay Quizon, the campuses’ student government association presidents are circulating petitions asking for the campus-initiated increases rather than the legislative plan increases.

General Administration also has asked all campuses to submit a 5 percent budget reduction plan by Feb. 22.

Budget reduction
Campuses need to find ways to save on expenses. One way might be to increase class sizes rather than hire more faculty to serve increased enrollments.

“The tuition is the main problem, said Freshman Joshua Strickland. “I really could care less about larger classes.”

Freshman Justin Hammonds said, “I have no problem with larger classes, but when I have to take extra money out of my pocket then I have a problem.”