Task force discusses proposed fees

CORRECTION: An earlier version of this article misstated the cost of proposed overnight parking passes. The passes would cost $227. The Daily Tar Heel apologizes for the error.

In its first meeting of the year Monday, the Tuition and Fee Advisory Task Force prepared to make influential decisions about the cost of attending UNC.

Representatives from UNC’s Executive Branch presented the task force with the outcomes of this year’s Student Fee Advisory Subcommittee meetings. The subcommittee approved some fee increases but did not reach consensus on other proposals.

The task force also discussed tuition costs for UNC students compared to public peer institutions.

At its next meeting on Nov. 5, the task force will decide what tuition and fee changes to approve for review by Chancellor Carol Folt and the UNC Board of Trustees for the 2014-15 school year.

Student Body President Christy Lambden said at Monday’s task force meeting that the student fee advisory subcommittee had not reached a consensus on a proposed $4.75 increase to the athletics fee or a proposed new $10.40 night parking fee.

The athletics fee increase would offset travel costs for Olympic sports — all sports other than men’s basketball or football.

“Students just didn’t feel that it was something student fees should be used for,” said Student Body Treasurer Matt Farley.

Sallie Shuping-Russell, a member of the UNC Board of Trustees, said the increased fee could especially benefit female athletes.

“By doing this you’re cutting the cost of sports that women are participating in,” she said. “Reducing the fee will hit female teams in particular.”

Lambden also presented the task force with the subcommittee’s inconclusive deliberations on the $10.40 night parking fee, which the UNC Department of Public Safety proposed to maintain the campus transit system. The subcommittee could not reach a consensus because the number seemed arbitrary, Lambden said.

Farley said the fee amount was recommended by a parking consultant who estimated four percent of students would buy a $227 night parking permit. He said a night permit wouldn’t guarantee a parking spot because daytime permits apply at night, too.

Graduate School President Kiran Bhardwaj told the task force that the subcommittee had not reached an agreement on the proposed change to the graduate student programming fee from a one-time $52.50 fee to a yearly $26.25 fee.

“Our constituents … were not convinced that grad students wanted more programming,” she said.

The task force postponed action on the fees until their next meeting.

Members also discussed UNC’s tuition increases over the past few years in comparison to other top research universities.

According to a presentation by Dwayne Pinkney, vice provost for finance and academic planning, UNC has the lowest in-state tuition in comparison to its peers in public research universities.

The comparisons for out-of-state students were slightly less favorable.

Vice Provost for Enrollment and Undergraduate Admissions Stephen Farmer said applicants compare UNC to different universities than administrators.

“When students are making enrollment decisions, they don’t care who our peers are,” he said.

Executive Provost and Vice Chancellor Jim Dean said he was satisfied with what the task force had accomplished at the meeting by building context and background for tuition and fee decisions to be made soon.

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