For a decade, in-state students in the UNC system have seen their tuition steadily increase — including a 13.5 percent rise at UNC-CH for 2012-13 that sparked a student outcry on campus.
But system president Tom Ross said at Thursday’s Board of Governors meeting in Chapel Hill that he wants to put the brakes on tuition hikes for North Carolina residents next year.
The announcement came as board members began discussing the implications of a fifth-straight year of state budget cuts to the UNC system. The N.C. General Assembly approved a two-year budget in July that gives the system $126.5 million less for this school year and the next than what was originally projected. The amount was deemed what is necessary to maintain current operating levels.
The new budget also includes a mandatory 12.3 percent tuition increase for out-of-state students at UNC-CH in addition to three other system schools next year.
The prospect of an in-state tuition freeze was met positively by several board members, who have consistently voiced a need at recent meetings to ease the shifting of budget cut burdens to students and their families.
The board will finalize tuition rates for 2014-15 at its February meeting.
