BOG to Confirm Tuition Plans Within Week

The board is slated to take a final vote on tuition levels for the UNC system on Wednesday.

Board members said today's tuition workshop, scheduled for 7 p.m. at the UNC-system General Administration building, will feature a debate about the merits of several proposals concerning changes to the board's tuition policy.

A BOG Budget and Finance Committee meeting -- where BOG members will begin to hammer out a specific tuition-increase proposal -- will immediately follow tonight's workshop.

One plan would raise tuition systemwide by 10 percent, using the money to fund enrollment growth and need-based financial aid. The plan, which was first discussed at a BOG tuition workshop two weeks ago, would limit campus-initiated tuition hikes to $250 at five UNC-system schools, including UNC-Chapel Hill. All other UNC-system schools could raise tuition by only $200.

The boards of trustees at both UNC-CH and N.C. State University have asked the BOG for a $400 tuition increase. All told, 13 UNC-system schools have brought tuition increase requests of varying amounts to the BOG this year.

BOG Chairman Ben Ruffin said board members will weigh the needs of both UNC-CH and N.C. State but also have to consider the rest of the campuses in the system. "We will look at their specific needs, but we also have to look at the total system," Ruffin said.

Ruffin said he hopes to come up with a tuition plan that provides badly needed revenue for the system during the state's fiscal crisis while keeping costs for students reasonable. The state is facing a budget shortfall of about $900 million for the 2001-02 fiscal year, prompting some to speculate that policymakers will be more receptive to increasing tuition.

"I hope we can come out with a solution that has a minimum amount of impact on students," he said.

Ruffin said that the tuition increase is a double-edged sword and that there is no easy solution. "We have the students who are presently enrolled who expect the tuition to stay low," Ruffin said. "Then we have students who are wanting to come to one of the UNC-system schools who are depending on the low cost of tuition."

Ruffin said the BOG needs to take its time in finding a solution to the dilemma. "We need to spend every minute we can to find a responsible solution," he said. "I feel we can't rush through it."

BOG member Jim Phillips, a member of the Budget and Finance Committee, said the money toward enrollment growth from a tuition increase would allow qualified students to attend a UNC-system school.

Phillips said that the tuition increase is vital but that the weak economy makes it hard to finalize a plan. "On one hand, substantial enrollment growth increases the need for funding," he said. "At the same time, the economy we live in cannot support such an increase in tuition."

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