When is a tuition cap not a cap? Answer: when it doesn’t limit tuition increase proposals in the UNC system.
On the face of it, the revised Four-Year Tuition Plan for the UNC system maintains the 6.5 percent cap on resident tuition increases.
We certainly approve of the cap: It’s a reflection of the state’s mandate, laid out in North Carolina’s constitution, to offer a UNC education to state residents as cheaply as possible.
But it’s undermined by the added provision which allows campuses to plan higher increases if they can justify “extenuating circumstances.”
The provision creates a moral hazard which threatens the long-term character of North Carolina higher education.
And it hinders financial planning by students and their families because tuition becomes less predictable.
There will always be circumstances which force raises beyond normal constraints. This past summer, students were hit with an unexpected $750 tuition increase by the legislature.
But a firm tuition cap on UNC-system requests forces campuses to do their utmost to maintain the state’s promise to residents and keep tuition low.
UNC administrators tell us they don’t intend to take advantage of this provision this year, which provides some temporary reassurance.
