It seems like a common solution to problems that face UNC is to pass the burden onto students. So it is with the tuition for online courses, which has spiked considerably this year, especially for out-of-state students.
For N.C. residents, the increase is $32, for a total of $174.16 per online credit hour. For non-residents, the increase was $508, for a total of $803.16.
The in-state increase was mandated by the legislature, and the out-of-state increase was put in place to make online tuition comparable to that charged for on-campus courses.
This burden is likely to have real effects, with estimates projecting that out-of-state online enrollment fell by one-third this fall.
The very idea of increasing online tuition is ridiculous in and of itself. The classes require few resources, and professors and students alike can complete all requirements from the comfort of their homes.
There does not appear to be any aspect of online learning that justifies the price hike other than a stressed budget.
Raising online tuition is onerous, especially since the reason many students choose online courses is because a required course is not available to them on campus.
And when UNC requires students to take online courses because the University doesn’t have the capacity to teach them in person — as is often the case — that is not the students’ fault.
It is already a burden to take an online class. They have far less educational value. That some students are now paying more than $2,400 to take them is especially odious.
Tuition hikes are inevitable. Because this is a public university, it is understandable that non-residents have to pay more.
But solving budget issues by gouging students who are often trying to meet the educational obligations the University has placed on them strikes us as lacking in resourcefulness as well as sensitivity.
