The UNC-system Board of Governors was wrong to fine UNC-Chapel Hill for breaking a rule that did not exist when the infraction occurred. Though it is important that the BOG enforce its policies consistently, fines should not be enforced retroactively.
UNC was fined for exceeding the number of out-of-state students it is allowed to enroll. However, when they were admitted, the students who now constitute the excess were allowed to be considered in-state for tuition purposes.
This past summer, the state legislature repealed the law that grants these scholarship students in-state status, thereby putting UNC over its limit. However, since the students in question had already been accepted and enrolled, there was nothing UNC’s admissions office could do to rectify the problem.
Charles Mercer, chairman of the BOG’s budget and finance committee, said the fine was imposed anyway because his committee thought it “better to act consistently with the policy.”
Though this is a reasonable defense of imposing the fine, it fails to address the negative consequences of the decision — consequences which are far worse than appearing inconsistent.
By retroactively imposing this fine, the BOG has set a precedent under which UNC-system schools are incentivized to hedge their bets and consider possible future legislation when deciding their schools’ policy.
This new dimension compels university administrators to try to predict the outcome of the inherently unpredictable legislative process.
Such speculation adds an unnecessary layer of complexity to the already difficult job of running a university in unfavorable economic times.
These considerations aside, it is simply unsound policy to enforce laws retroactively, especially when the “infractions” cannot be reversed.
