Easley backs lower tuition

As legislators look for ways to balance the state’s needs, Gov. Mike Easley has come out strongly against tuition increases for UNC-system schools — issuing a call to keep higher education accessible.

In a Feb. 9 letter sent to the system’s Board of Governors, Easley announced his intentions to improve state funding for higher education — including meeting enrollment growth needs and compensating for cuts to federal Pell Grants — without raising tuition.

Easley praised BOG members for their stance on tuition freezes.

“The system, and its campuses, cannot maintain the goodwill of the people while raising tuition year after year without a long-term plan in place that balances the need for additional resources, the need to maximize efficiencies, and the need to keep college costs affordable,” the letter stated.

Board members last week voted down requests from system schools for campus-based increases for in-state tuition. UNC-Chapel Hill sought a $250 increase for in-state students.

J.B. Buxton, Easley’s senior education adviser, said final figures on the cost of enrollment growth and federal Pell Grant cuts are not yet in, but he said Easley is making higher education a top priority.

Numbers won’t be solidified until the governor’s budget is released next week, but Buxton said system schools are seeking about $70 million for enrollment growth.

Buxton estimated that about 15,000 students will be affected by changes made to federal Pell Grants last year, amounting to a loss of about $5 million.

“We’re going make sure that we’re meeting the growth issues at the university and continue to be committed to need-based financial aid,” he said.

Buxton said Easley is not only focused on growth expenses but also on maintaining educational quality at schools such as UNC-CH.

“The governor has come out with a very strong stand on tuition,” he said. “We need to make access to higher education a top priority right now.”

Legislators say it is too early to tell if the final budget will leave out any potential hikes.

Sen. John Garwood, R-Wilkes, ranking minority member of the Appropriations Committee on Higher Education, said that tuition freezes might be appropriate.

“We’ve got to stop it somewhere,” he said. “We’re going against our mandate to educate students at the lowest possible cost.”

Rep. Joe Hackney, D-Orange, said legislators probably won’t have a solid budget picture until tax collections April 15.

“In general I’m sympathetic with the tuition freeze,” he said. “I think tuition has gone up too much too fast.”

Jeff Davies, vice president for finance for the UNC system, said he is encouraged by the governor’s willingness to fund enrollment growth and financial aid.

But he said the system has other legitimate concerns, such as salary increases, that need to be addressed, and he hopes that the money for those will come from the legislature and not tuition increases.

“I’m deeply concerned that there may be further budget reductions,” he said. “We have had budget reductions for several years, and it is very difficult to cope with any further reductions.”

 

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