The report, issued this month by the Advisory Committee on Student Financial Assistance, cited a lack of need-based aid programs as the reason why lower- and moderate-income families cannot afford to pay for higher education.
But Shirley Ort, director of scholarships and student aid at UNC-Chapel Hill, said increased support from the state and the University for need-based aid programs has allowed UNC-CH to meet 100 percent of financial need for in-state students and 85 percent for out-of-state students over the past several years.
Ort said that because of a state-funded need-based grant program approved in 2000-01, UNC-CH was able to meet 100 percent of financial need for both in- and out-of state students last year.
Ort said the program, which will bring in $800,000 in need-based aid for UNC-CH this year, has been included in the budget proposals by both the governor and the state Senate, even though the state is facing a $1.6 billion budget shortfall.
"State government representatives have been mindful of the needs of students," Ort said. "As North Carolina has moved into a higher tuition state, they've made an uncommon commitment to need-based aid."
The advisory committee's report recommends that federal and state governments increase need-based aid as opposed to merit-based aid programs, warning that 4.4 million "college qualified" students will be unable to afford college by the end of the decade at the current rate.
Ort said UNC-CH already allocates 90 to 95 percent of its scholarship and student aid for need-based programs and sets aside 35 percent of all campus-initiated tuition increases for need-based aid.
But Ort said a systemwide tuition increase approved last spring by the UNC-system Board of Governors will not set aside revenue to provide additional aid, which she said might force more students to take out federal loans.
The increase -- 8 percent for in-state students and 12 percent for out-of-state students -- still needs to be approved by the N.C. General Assembly.
