UNC-W joins close to a dozen other schools in the UNC system that have either passed tuition increases or are considering them.
The UNC-Chapel Hill Board of Trustees approved a one-year, $400 tuition increase on Jan. 24. UNC-Charlotte passed an increase of the same amount earlier this month. The UNC-system Board of Governors will consider all campus-initiated tuition increases during its meeting on March 6.
Tim Jordan, UNC-W's vice chancellor for business affairs, said the school needs a tuition increase for several reasons, including university budget cuts stemming from the state's $900 million budget shortfall and a decline in the percentage of state funding received by the university during the last 20 years. "These are desperate times," Jordan said.
UNC-W trustee Dennis Worley said the $400 amount is "based upon the needs of the staff and the university" and will be used to fund programs and increases in faculty salaries.
Several trustees said they only approved the tuition increase because they could find no alternative solutions.
"I (approved the proposal) with a great deal of reservation because I know it impacts the students and their families," Worley said.
UNC-W trustee Alfred Carlton also said the state's fiscal situation and probable budget cuts left the board members with no other option. "I think we're faced with a situation where we need to maintain a sound economic foundation for the campus," he said.
But UNC-W Student Body President Adrien Lopez is doubtful that such an increase is necessary and wishes the students had more input in the decision.
She said students voiced their opinions at a protest outside the board's February meeting and through a letter explaining students' opposition to the tuition increase, which was given to trustees before the vote. Lopez said she hopes BOG members will recognize how the increase will hurt students. "We're still thinking that with our fees and tuition, it's such a huge increase that the Board of Governors won't pass the whole plan."
