THE ISSUE: The UNC-system Board of Governors will be voting on Thursday whether to accept President Thomas Ross’s proposal to allow universities autonomy in deciding the proportion of tuition increases that go toward financial aid. Two Editorial Board members present different perspectives .
Financial aid helps keep the UNC system great. Tim and I agree on that. What we disagree on is how the system can best ensure that new tuition hikes don’t deny access to students with need.
On its face, the current rule seems like a good policy — or at least a policy that would promote financial aid. But there are some problems with the rule.
Many system schools already far exceed the minimum. Of the 16 UNC-system schools, eight appropriated more than 25 percent of their most recent tuition increases for need-based aid. Clearly, these schools do not need the rule to make financial aid a priority.
This is especially true of our University where, in recent years, the figure has reliably hovered between 35 percent and 40 percent.
Even still, you may wonder, why change the rule? Who benefits?
Students do. By removing this regulation, the prerogative of tuition-setting and aid-disbursement would fall more squarely to the chancellors and boards of trustees. Campuses would then be able to implement rules that better suit their students’ specific needs. Some schools might be better off with a lower-tuition, lower-aid model. Moreover, students have a more direct line to their chancellors than to the Board of Governors.
Also, a recent BOG proposal sought to make 25 percent the cap rather than the floor. Although it was discarded, it’s clear that so long as control remains in the BOG, financial aid remains at risk. Abolishing the rule will help keep that risk at bay, at least for the time being.
