MEGAN MCSWAIN

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Companies look to keep grads close to home

By MEGAN MCSWAIN | October 12

Triangle graduates looking to trade a college campus for a corporate one might not have to look very far. Research Triangle Park - located within 15 miles of Chapel Hill - hosts more than 115 research and development companies. Many of the businesses hire recent college graduates from the area's universities, including UNC-Chapel Hill, N.C. State University and Duke University. Overall, the park employs more than 38,000 people.

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Students aim to curb jump in college costs

By MEGAN MCSWAIN | September 14

The cost of higher education puts many students in debt, and the problem could be growing. Student lobbying groups are unhappy with potential federal funding cuts that could increase the burden and are rallying forces. The reauthorization of the Higher Education Act of 1965 and the budget reconciliation process - which has committees scrambling to find ways to cut spending - has fallen upon this Congressional session. In order to settle the budget, certain committees in the U.S. Senate and House need to slash $35 billion to finance the national deficit.

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Dell to stay local in hiring

By MEGAN MCSWAIN | August 30

After the generous incentives Dell received to build a manufacturing plant in Forsyth County, the company is now prepared to start giving back — in the form of paychecks to about 350 new employees. The company’s 527,000-square-foot manufacturing facility, located in the Alliance Park complex, will be officially opened in a ceremony for community leaders Oct. 5. Citizens in the Triad have seen a number of large employers move away in the past few years, making Dell’s commitment to hire mainly from the surrounding area an important bargaining point.

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Economy, unemployment see growth

By MEGAN MCSWAIN | August 30

The state unemployment rate rose each month this summer, but the numbers don’t reflect North Carolina’s growing economy. Economists cite two factors to explain a rise in the unemployment rate from 5.1 percent in May to 5.7 percent in July. First, schools closing for the summer cause a seasonal jump in unemployment, and second, a rising economy encourages more people to actively seek work.

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Final bill helps universities market goods

By MEGAN MCSWAIN | August 29

For 76 years, UNC-system campuses have been barred from offering certain services to the broader community, but now they have a little more leeway. The N.C. General Assembly ratified an amendment to the Umstead Act on Aug. 23 altering the act so that universities can provide goods and services to the community that are not already available.

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UNC students lead both college parties

By MEGAN MCSWAIN | April 11

UNC students will lead the state’s College Republicans and Young Democrats for the first time in recent history after Tar Heels swept the groups’ recent elections. The N.C. Federation of College Democrats elected Tom Jensen to its presidency Saturday in Raleigh during the group’s spring convention. The former student body president candidate at UNC ran unopposed. The state’s College Republicans elected University student Tripp Costas on April 3 during a similar convention.

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Rand files health care bills

By MEGAN MCSWAIN | March 23

Two bills filed Monday in the N.C. legislature have the potential to save the state money on health care expenditures. The proposals, sponsored by Senate Majority Leader Tony Rand, D-Cumberland, would implement changes to the State Health Plan to provide more options for plan members and arrange for the state to receive more health care funding from the federal government. One of the bills would allow state employees to choose from a variety of preferred provider organizations, health maintenance organizations or other optional health care providers.

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Report: NCSSM has unfair breaks

By MEGAN MCSWAIN | January 28

A local conservative higher-education watchdog has deemed that the tuition waivers for UNC-system schools given to graduates of the N.C. School of Science and Math are unfair. The John Williams Pope Center for Higher Education Policy released a report Wednesday stating that North Carolina is wasting money on the grant program. The N.C. General Assembly waived tuition costs for NCSSM graduates as a motivation for them to attend college in the state. The public residential high school, started in 1980, is affiliated with the UNC system.

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Senators have hopes of victory for lottery

By MEGAN MCSWAIN | January 26

A lottery proposal will once again be brought before the N.C. General Assembly today as legislators convene for the 2005-06 session. The bill — which Rep. Bill Owens, D-Pasquotank, plans to introduce — would allow N.C. counties to place a public opinion poll about the lottery on the 2006 ballot. Counties that approve the lottery would receive 25 percent of its revenue for local schools. The other 75 percent would go to other statewide educational needs such as scholarships, Owens said.

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Illinois' plan for tuition offers model

By MEGAN MCSWAIN | January 25

If the UNC system likes what it sees, it could mimic a tuition-certainty policy that has maintained costs in the University of Illinois system. In the guaranteed-tuition plan, Illinois students pay a constant rate of tuition during a four-year undergraduate degree program. “Giving parents and families a chance to project and plan ahead is the (program’s) benefit,” said Thomas Eakman, executive assistant vice president for academic affairs at UI-Chicago.