Board votes down in-state hikes

WILMINGTON — There was no discussion and no dissent as the UNC system’s governing body voted to reject any rise in next year’s tuition for in-state students.

In unanimously adopting the recommendation of its Budget and Finance Committee, the Board of Governors effectively left it to the N.C. General Assembly to meet the needs outlined by university chancellors.

“The significant needs of the university cannot be met and solved by tuition alone,” said BOG Chairman Brad Wilson. “We need to continue to work hard and partner with the General Assembly … to solve the root causes of the problems you saw (during chancellors’ presentations).”

That doesn’t mean students will completely escape increased costs.

Friday’s decision could put more pressure on the Board of Governors to consider raising tuition for nonresidents and graduate students, in addition to potential hikes in student fees.

“I do think that the action of not raising in-state, undergraduate tuition will bring sharper focus on the need for out-of-state tuition increases,” Wilson said.

The gulf between resident and nonresident tuition at some schools could widen substantially if the board approves out-of-state increases next month.

“There will always be a gap, and that gap is probably going to increase some,” said board member Ray Farris. “The question is, how much and when? I don’t think it ought to be as extreme as it has been.”

UNC-system President Molly Broad said the board is statutorily obligated to keep nonresident tuition near the average for comparable institutions.

Still, Farris said, “I think some increase certainly will pass.”

Many campus officials, including UNC-Chapel Hill Chancellor James Moeser, said the board takes a risk by opting not to raise funds through tuition hikes.

“They’ve closed off an option,” he said, in reference to the freeze on resident tuition. “I think it also raises the possibility that the legislature will, in fact, raise tuition. I’m concerned about it, because as we pointed out (to the board), a legislative increase does not necessarily get rebated to the campuses.”

Should the General Assembly impose a tuition hike, which would affect all students, the additional revenue could be appropriated to any program in the state budget.

“Education is the largest recipient of funding from the general fund, by far,” said Sen. Richard Stevens, R-Wake, a member of the appropriations committee on higher education. “Any increase in revenue is going to go substantially to education.”

UNC-CH would be unlikely to see much of that increased funding, Farris said, because the legislature tends to focus appropriations on enrollment growth, favoring fast-growing schools over the larger research institutions.

“I certainly hope the legislature does not raise tuition,” he said. “If it does anything, the nongrowth institutions will get none of it.”

Legislators in both chambers say it is far too early to predict the final budget outlook.

“We don’t yet know what the bottom line is,” said Sen. A.B. Swindell, D-Nash. “One place where I am not willing to scrape the bottom of the barrel is playing with the education of our students in North Carolina.”

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