The UNC-system Board of Governors approved another round of tuition and fee hikes this year as students and families continue to grapple with rising college costs.
The board finalized in February an 8.8 percent average systemwide increase for the current academic year, including a $695 — 13.5 percent — tuition increase for in-state undergraduates at UNC-CH.
About 200 student protesters and Chapel Hill occupiers shouted and beat on drums outside the board meeting earlier this year, making the final vote inaudible.
The protesters stormed into the board room after the meeting’s conclusion, sat in members’ seats and threw their name tags on the floor. Chant topics ranged from opposition to tuition hikes to concerns raised by the Occupy movement.
“They were angry with me about the bank bailout, about Wall Street,” said Hannah Gage, board chairwoman at the time, in a press conference after the meeting. “This was not just a student protest on tuition. They were angry about the world.”
But students who protested the vote said the board provided few opportunities for students to voice their dissent. The board only has one student representative, the system Association of Student Governments president, who is a nonvoting member.
“People inside the room may have felt that what students did today was obnoxious or over the top,” said Gregory Randolph, a director at UNC-CH’s Campus Y, after the meeting. “But I think they left us no other option.”
Despite the vociferous display by students, system administrators say state funding cuts necessitated the tuition hikes to bolster state revenue.
The UNC system absorbed a cut of $414 million, or 15.6 percent, in funding last year as a decline in revenues — due to the tough economy — affected all state priorities.
