A&T looks to freeze costs

Out-of-state students at N.C. Agricultural & Technical State University could catch a break next year if the university’s Board of Trustees approves a tuition freeze.

N.C. A&T Chancellor James Renick will submit his request Wednesday to halt any increases. Originally, Renick planned to request a $225 increase for residents and a $300 increase for nonresidents. But he decided to rescind the petition after reviewing the financial needs of the university’s students and the uncertain future of federal aid.

Eighty percent of the university’s students receive some form of aid. “Increasingly, we’re becoming concerned about parents and students paying tuition. It made sense to move in this direction,” Renick said.

Added tuition also could come on top of changes in financial aid for many N.C. A&T students. President Bush’s proposed budget could reduce the number of students eligible to receive Pell Grants and eliminate or curtail low-interest Perkins Loans.

But whether the school’s tuition, which was $1,769 for residents and $11,211 for nonresidents in fall 2004, remains unchanged depends on its trustees.

Velma Speight-Buford, vice chairwoman of the BOT, said she supports the chancellor’s decision and plans on voting for the freeze.

“I thought it was one of the best decisions he made since he became chancellor. We need to keep our fees at a minimum so we can educate as many students as possible.”

Brad Wilson, chairman of the UNC-system Board of Governors, said Renick’s reversal is unprecedented and that it also will be an isolated incident.

The decision will cause the university to have to look elsewhere for funds. Renick said the money gained from the tuition increases would have gone toward N.C. A&T’s financial aid program.

Now that the plan is to keep tuition the same, there is no need to give additional resources to the program. And university officials said there will be no cuts in other programs and that academic initiatives will move forward as planned.

“We’re going to make sure that those programs that need funding are prioritized,” Speight-Buford said. “We’re not worried about anyone losing out. We will go out there and find the money we need.”

The chancellor’s request for a freeze was planned before last week, when the BOG denied in-state tuition increase requests for 13 system schools.

And Wilson, who has publicly supported a systemwide in-state tuition freeze since December, said he supports Renick’s position.

“I felt that we should hold the line this year and work the General Assembly,” Wilson said. “We would be able to do that this year without hurting quality.”

Next month, the BOG will decide whether to approve out-of-state tuition increases, but N.C. A&T isn’t likely to make a request.

Speight-Buford said she thinks state legislators should live up to their promise to keep higher education in North Carolina affordable.

“The legislature has to come up to the plate.”

 

Contact the State & National Editor at stntdesk@unc.edu.