Tuition Hikes May Deter Low-Income Students

Admissions data indicates that there has been a steady decline in applicants from low-income high schools and counties since the last campus-initiated tuition increase passed in 1999.

The number of applicants from low-income counties has dropped 5.5 percent since 1999, compared to a 0.2 percent drop in applicants from all income levels.

Similarly, the number of applicants from low-income high schools has fallen 13.3 percent, compared with 1.8 percent for high schools overall.

Provost Robert Shelton, who is a co-chairman of the Task Force on Tuition, which will meet today to craft a tuition increase proposal, said the decline might be caused by misperception about UNC's tuition.

"Our marketing studies show that everyone thinks we're more expensive than we actually are," Shelton said. "We have to do a much better job of communicating that UNC is affordable."

The UNC Board of Trustees is expected to act on the tuition task force's recommendations Jan. 24 and is expected to raise tuition yet again.

Shelton said potential applicants in low-income areas might be misled by highly publicized news of tuition increases and might think the school is unaffordable. "We need to be sure we get the word out to rural areas and low-income high schools," he said.

Senior Eric Johnson, a member of the tuition task force, also attributed the drop in applications to a lack of knowledge about UNC's financial aid and said he hopes that a proactive communication strategy will stop the downward trend.

"It's all going to depend on how well we communicate accessibility of financial aid and how it works," Johnson said.

But many students and administrators said the financial aid office is doing a commendable job of ensuring that UNC is affordable for needy students. "The financial aid office has done a great job of (ensuring) that anyone who wants to go here can afford it," Johnson said.

"Our financial aid office has done a great job on a next-to-impossible task."

Shelton also said UNC has met 100 percent of students' demonstrated financial need in the last year.

"We have to make it clear to students that if they meet our standards, we will find a way to get them here," he said.

Currently, 35 percent of the revenue from all campus-initiated tuition increases is allocated to the Office of Scholarships and Student Aid. Thanks to these "hold harmless" grants, students who need financial aid will receive a grant to offset the tuition increase, said Shirley Ort, director of scholarships and student aid.

Ort said the decrease in applicants from low-income areas also might be due to stringent admissions standards, which could favor high-income students.

"There's a really strong correlation between family income and college preparedness," she said. "It's harder and harder to bring low-income students to the University."

But Shelton said the data calls for more research and feedback to examine possible problem areas and solutions for more effective communication.

Johnson also said he hopes the data will factor into today's tuition task force meeting, in which members will be discussing final dollar-amount ranges for this year's proposed tuition hike. He said he hopes further tuition increases will not dissuade rural or low-income students from applying to UNC. "These numbers really give me cause for concern."

The University Editor can be reached at udesk@unc.edu.