BOG May Exempt Schools From Cap

UNC-system officials are recommending that the BOG suspend its policy requiring budget reversions from schools whose out-of-state enrollments exceed the cap because the campuses in question already face fiscal cuts.

The three schools over the cap are Elizabeth City State University, with 18.6 percent out-of-state freshman for fall 2001, N.C. Agricultural & Technical State University with 20 percent, and UNC-Wilmington with 19.5 percent.

"Our recommendation is that the schools not be penalized because all the schools have had such severe budget cuts," said Jeff Davies, UNC-system vice president of finance.

Declining state revenues forced Gov. Mike Easley to order a 2.7 percent budget cut for the UNC system for 2001-02.

According to state law, UNC-system schools may not have more than 18 percent of freshmen from outside the state.

Elizabeth City State, N.C. A&T and UNC-W have exceeded the enrollment cap for the second consecutive year. BOG policy states that any such institution will have its state operating budget reduced.

In November, the BOG Planning Committee proposed that N.C. A&T be provisionally exempted from the restriction. Under the plan, the campus' out-of-state engineering students would not be counted in calculations of nonresident students.

Addison Bell, BOG Budget and Finance Committee chairman, whose committee will hear the proposal today, said universities facing declining enrollment will benefit from admitting more out-of-state students.

He added that though the committee has yet to take up the issue, he expects BOG members to favor the exemption.

Committee member Gladys Robinson said she does not think it is inappropriate for the BOG to consider exempting its own policy.

"Sometimes it is important to review specific issues that may come up as a result of the policy," she said. "No matter what's done, you cannot foresee all the consequences all the time."

Bell said he does not expect a similar exemption to be proposed for larger schools like UNC-Chapel Hill and N.C. State University.

UNC-CH was slightly over the 18 percent out-of-state freshmen enrollment cap in 2000-01 but did not violate it this year.

"In North Carolina, student demand is too high for these schools," Bell said.

Davies also said the exemption will not set a precedent. He said he is hopeful that the system will not face similar budget reductions in the future.

Davies added that it is sometimes difficult to avoid enrolling more than 18 percent of out-of-state students.

"Enrollment planning is an art, not a science," he said. "It's not bad planning -- it's a high demand for our institutions."

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