Save UNC, the public university

As our campus contemplates massive tuition increases to fill holes in the University budget, I’m drawn to the words of Charles Kuralt, from the UNC Bicentennial:

“Our love for this place is based on the fact that it is, as it was meant to be, the University of the people.”

This university is ultimately accountable to those who fund it. So if we shift the burden for funding from the state to solely the students who attend, we’re threatening the essence of the institution.

In the short term, some of the arguments for raising student tuition seem compelling.

The University needs money to maintain its excellence, and the current legislature won’t pony up. And since UNC’s tuition is comparatively low, students could maybe pay a little more for the benefits they receive. But UNC is more than just an excellent university — it is a public university.

Low tuition is enshrined in the state constitution, which states that “the benefits of the University of North Carolina and other public institutions of higher education, as far as practicable, be extended to the people of the State free of expense.”

State leaders have long recognized that a public university can do more for the state than just serve the individuals who attend. Put another way, we’re not simply an inferior version of Duke which educates more in-staters.

Consider UNC Tomorrow, the initiative led by former UNC system President Erskine Bowles to examine how UNC system campuses respond to the most pressing needs of the state.

Our campus’ response highlighted leadership in health, public education, economic development, access to higher education and much more.

The question of whether tuition can be raised is about more than just what parents are willing to pay. The issue is broader: to whom is the University accountable? If a fee-for-service approach replaces strong state funding, will UNC prioritize the desires of the few over the needs of the state?

In trying to answer some of these questions, we can look across the nation at the experiences of other public institutions that are already moving away from their public heritage.

The University of Michigan has already weaned itself off most of its state funding, and there have been proposals to make it fully private.

It shows: a 2004 survey of students found more Michigan freshmen from families earning more than $200,000 than from families earning less than the national median of $53,000.

Earlier this year, the University of Wisconsin at Madison’s chancellor proposed breaking away from the state system, a move that some feared would prevent bright students from transferring in from community colleges.

And many universities, including the University of California at Berkeley, are admitting far more out-of-staters.

The budgetary situation is tough, but UNC must avoid changing its fundamental relationship with the state by seeking to replace state dollars with tuition. That will mean tolerating tough times and making painful cuts.

Students will feel that pinch as much as anyone, with fewer sections and — until the state is able to better support us again — gradual erosion in UNC’s place.

But in the longer term, that’s a necessary cost, if UNC is to remain the University of the people.