Although the tuition proposals operate on a systemwide level, Andrew Payne, president of the UNC Association of Student Governments, said his organization has no plans to protest the potential hikes.
He said he hopes to focus student energy on protesting budget cuts instead because some form of tuition increase is virtually inevitable.
But at UNC-Chapel Hill, Student Body President Justin Young led a lobbying campaign and introduced a resolution to Student Congress opposing one of the tuition increase proposals. "When decisions like this happen over the summer, student government has to be the one to respond as the watchdog for the student body," Young said.
Two proposals have emerged from the legislature for tuition hikes at UNC-system schools that go beyond pre-approved increases and a 4 percent systemwide increase recommended by the Board of Governors.
The Senate's proposal would raise tuition an extra 5 percent for UNC-Chapel Hill students. The House plan would leave in-state tuition unchanged but create a 15 percent jump for out-of-state students.
Young said members of student government began to mobilize when they heard about the potential hikes, sending e-mail messages and letters and lobbying legislators.
"The University has its own lobbyist to convey the University's view, but that is different from the student perspective," he said. "We realized the student voice wasn't strong enough."
Young said he was particularly displeased with the House's proposal that puts the entire increase on the shoulders of out-of-state students. An out-of-state student himself, Young said legislators often overestimate out-of-state students' ability to absorb extra costs.
"There's this whole idea grossly displayed in Raleigh that all out-of-state students are rich and come from New Jersey," he said. "We all know that's not true, and to target them sends an unfair message."
