5-Year Tuition Plan New Issue For Committee

The task force decided Tuesday to recommend a one-time, $400 increase for all UNC-Chapel Hill students.

If approved by the UNC-CH Board of Trustees and the UNC-system Board of Governors, the increased tuition rates will go into effect next year.

Before Tuesday's meeting, the task force appeared to be headed toward a multiyear plan.

Provost Robert Shelton drew up three potential tuition increase proposals for the meeting, all of which spanned five years.

But task force members decided Tuesday it would be best to propose a one-year plan to the UNC-CH BOT on Jan. 24 and continue working on a five-year plan that would start in the 2003-04 academic year.

UNC-CH Chancellor James Moeser said Tuesday that University officials will use the extra time to hold comprehensive discussions with officials across the UNC system and state legislators on the role tuition revenue must play in the funding of the University.

Moeser said he expects the five-year plan to be in place by the end of the spring 2002 semester.

The decision to propose a one-year plan was largely the result of a motion passed by the BOG last Friday.

The motion calls for all 16 UNC-system schools to create five-year guidelines for tuition and fees, starting with the 2003-04 school year.

While the five-year plans are nonbinding, they do call for UNC-system schools -- especially similar institutions -- to collaborate on the plans.

Several BOG members did not return phone calls Tuesday.

At Tuesday's third and final task force meeting, several members said it was important for UNC-CH to take immediate action but also said the University should collaborate with other UNC-system schools -- especially N.C. State University -- before creating a more long-term plan.

"My understanding is that if (the BOG) gets a proposal, they want it to be for one year," said UNC-CH Provost and task force Co-chairman Robert Shelton.

Moeser said that while he was somewhat surprised by the task force's decision to propose only a one-year tuition increase plan, it was consistent with the desires of the BOG.

"(The task force's recommendation) puts us right in line with the actions of the BOG," Moeser said.

The BOG is expected to consider about a half-dozen campus-initiated tuition increase requests and a 4.8 percent systemwide increase at its March meeting.

Shelton said he hopes the task force -- or a similar committee -- will soon begin to move forward with creating a more long-term plan.

"I think there are strong reasons to have a multiyear plan -- it's a more honest plan," he said.

The State & National Editor can be reached at stntdesk@unc.edu.