BOG: Professional Schools May Still See Hikes

The UNC-system Board of Governors voted March 6 to increase tuition 12 percent systemwide for out-of-state students and 8 percent for in-state students, the largest out-of-state increase the BOG has ever approved.

The hike still must be approved by the N.C. General Assembly, which convenes in late May.

UNC-CH Provost Robert Shelton said Sunday that he has begun preliminary discussions with UNC-system officials to examine the possibility of reducing the out-of-state tuition increase for students in UNC-CH's professional programs.

Shelton said the deans of certain professional schools have expressed concern that the 12 percent increase could hurt their schools' competitiveness.

BOG Chairman Ben Ruffin said the board has not yet received a formal proposal to adjust the tuition plan.

"We would always consider anything that comes from the campus," Ruffin said. "And if there is a good rationale to bring these proposals, we have a responsibility; we have to listen to them."

But BOG member Robert Warwick, who first formally proposed the possibility of the large systemwide increase, said he believes the opposition coming from professional schools is unjustified.

"It's still the lowest cost, highest quality system in the country that I'm aware of," Warwick said. "You honestly can't go down the road to Duke (University) and find anything cheaper."

Warwick noted the BOG's commitment to its initial decision to raise tuition.

"Nobody on the BOG wanted to raise tuition," he said. "But it obviously isn't a good policy if they change it two months later."

But ultimate judgments concerning tuition are in the hands of the legislature.

N.C. Senate Majority Leader Tony Rand, D-Cumberland, said the objections coming from UNC-CH carry little weight.

"I don't know why they think it would harm their schools," Rand said.

He also said that though the chance of a modification is slim, the Senate probably will consider all arguments. "I don't know what we'd do," he said. "We want to help and hear the different ideas so that we can take in all the pertinent information."

Rand said the UNC system will always be forced to make substantial fiscal decisions because of the caliber of its professional schools. "We have the competing interests of money to keep the programs competitive on a level versus keeping the university balanced," he said.

Warwick said he thinks there is little to no data that could support the arguments of UNC-CH's professional schools.

"We'll certainly listen to what they're saying if anyone submits anything that shows our schools aren't competitive with comparable quality schools," he said.

Warwick also noted that financial aid for students will total more in 2002 than ever before. "I doubt that based on my personal knowledge they would be able to show that we aren't competitive at this time," he said. "We don't believe we're pricing ourselves out of the market."

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