Chancellor Should Up Tuition Last

If you've spent any time on campus and sober this semester, you'll have noticed those blue construction fences blossoming all over the north campus. As workers continue extensive renovations on several central areas of UNC, the time is ripe to look at days to come, to consider what lies ahead for the University.

Chancellor James Moeser outlined his own vision for UNC's future at his State of the University address last week.

"The first public university in America should today be first among America's public universities," Moeser said in his speech before about 500 members of the University community. "That is our history; that is our destiny."

But not the kind of destiny you can just sit back and await while the inexorable workings of fate bring it inevitably to pass. Moeser's vision is more the kind of destiny that helps those who help themselves.

To become the best public university in the nation, Moeser said, UNC needs to focus on some key areas such as public service and faculty excellence.

The entire University community should support Moeser in his "Carolina First" fundraising campaign which will aim at helping meet those needs.

In addition to fundraising efforts, Moeser plans to propose further tuition increases to the Board of Trustees.

"We will remain faithful to the state Constitution by allocating a sufficient portion of that revenue to need-based financial aid," Moeser said.

The constitution mandates that the University "as far as practicable, be extended to the people of the State free of expense." Moeser interprets this to mean that "no student is denied access to Carolina because of financial need."

But the same financial problems that are making the state budget unusually tight this year affect many individual North Carolina families as well, making it harder even for those who might not qualify for financial aid to afford a more expensive education.

To be honest with ourselves, it would undeniably be "practicable" for UNC not to be required to lead the nation. In fact, Moeser's desire that it do so, while showing admirable pride for the University, might not be the best goal for UNC at this time in its history.

Moeser himself argued against focusing too closely on journalistic national rankings of universities, such as the U.S. News and World Report rankings, in which UNC slipped to fifth among public universities last week.

"But let us not for a second be diverted by these arbitrary and artificial ratings from the substance of our vision for excellence," Moeser said.

But even as he rejected excessive attention to rankings, Moeser emphasized a goal of superiority over the very schools that beat Carolina in that list.

Moeser has the right idea, just slightly out of focus. Instead of reaching to be the best there is, UNC should try to be the best it can be.

"Best in the nation" might well be a good star by which to set a course for UNC. But the goal is continuous improvement, independent of how well other schools are doing. Excellence is absolute, not comparative.

With that in mind, perhaps we students should not instantly reject Moeser's upcoming tuition increase proposal after all. Providing Moeser makes sure that money is put to good use, he could be right in anticipating a new "golden age" for the University.

That means not just hiring top quality faculty and funding innovative research programs. There must be a real commitment to financial aid for every single student who would not otherwise be able to take on the increased cost.

And with students, taxpayers should take up as much of the burden as possible. It is citizens' responsibility to maintain and increase the quality of their university. Tuition increases, while perhaps a necessary evil, should be a last resort.

Columnist Geoff Wessel can be reached at vroomsplat@hotmail.com.