Tuition freeze under discussion

By Scott Ammons
Senior Staff Writer

It appears that students of the 16 UNC campuses may receive a late Christmas gift from the Board of Governors. The boards’ budget committee met Jan.13 to discuss whether students and their parents would be zapped with another tuition increase for the upcoming school year.

Brad Wilson, chairman of the Board of Governors, is leading the fight to freeze tuition at the 16 state sponsored universities for the upcoming school year. According to the Associated Press, Wilson believes North Carolina should take a breather from higher education's financial arms race.

According to the University Of North Carolina Association Of Student Governments (UNC-ASG) which represents all 16 campuses, “North Carolina ranks first in the nation in percentage of undergraduate tuition and fee increases at the flagship and comprehensive universities from 1999-2003. These increases total 83.6 percent at the flagship universities and 52.3 percent at the comprehensive universities.”

Wilson said he believes, “The tuition increases approved last year have gone a long way to slow the erosion the university is and was experiencing.” He said, “We ought to skip a year and hold the line, work with the General Assembly to pass as strong a budget as the state can afford, and see where we are going into 2006,” according to the News and Observer.

However, Wilson’s strong stance on tuition has been met with heavy opposition and strong remarks. In an article released by the Associated Press, Richard Vaughn, a North Carolina State trustee, recommended a $300 tuition jump for all students in each of the next two years. Vaughn said, “The trustees of the individual campuses know a whole lot more about their needs than the Board of Governors.” Vaughn went on to say, “They can sit over there and make any decision they want to. We happen to believe it’s appropriate for our tuition to be increased.”

Under North Carolina state law, schools can ask for tuition increases even if the Board of Governors turns down their request. In 2002, state legislatures ignored the Board of Governors recommendation of a moratorium on tuition increases and raised rates five percent.

Wilson has urged the board to consider other options that would help North Carolina deal with their educational funding woes, such as a fixed four-year tuition rate for each freshman class. Wilson believes this would help families better prepare for costs.

John Slottje, a sophomore at UNCP, likes the idea of a fixed four-year tuition rate. He said, “It would help me and other students know exactly how much money we will need from one year to the next.” Senior Dart McAdoo also believes a fixed rate is a good idea, especially for students who depend on their parents to pay their tuition. McAdoo said, “Since I have been at UNCP, my tuition has increased every year. It's aggravating not knowing how much tuition will be from one year to the next.”

Critics of the proposal fear that the state could experience a budget crisis, which would force universities to raise tuition considerably for the next class.

The Board of Governors will discuss the proposal at their February meeting and vote on a tuition increase for 2005-2006 in March.