Most System Schools Called Unaffordable by Study

The report was prepared by the Lumina Foundation for Education, a private organization aimed at improving access to higher education.

The study found that 29 percent of North Carolina's public and private institutions, including UNC-CH, are not affordable for dependent lower-income students.

According to a press release, the foundation considered college expenses, personal resources and financial aid provided to determine affordability.

Out of the state's 16 UNC-system campuses, only UNC-Wilmington, Fayetteville State University and UNC-Pembroke were deemed affordable for all students.

Livingstone College was the lone private institution in the state rated as affordable.

Derek Price, Lumina Foundation director of higher education research and co-author of the study, said he thinks there is a lack of awareness about the affordability of higher education for low-income students.

"What we hope to do is raise the level of discussion (regarding this issue)," Price said.

"We think our data is a step in that direction."

But Shirley Ort, UNC-CH director of scholarships and student aid, said she questions the methodology used by the foundation.

"I don't believe the rating they have assigned to (UNC-CH)," Ort said. "We're meeting the full need of our low-income students."

She added that the report analyzed affordability for any low-income student across the state, without considering admissions standards that determine which students can attend the University.

UNC-P Provost Roger Brown said the university's rating as affordable for low-income students reflects the school's mission to maintain low tuition rates, which is outlined in the N.C. Constitution.

UNC-P's in-state tuition is just more than $1,000 per year.

"It is traditional that rural campuses are going to attempt to keep costs lower," Brown said. "When you look around the country ... we really are among the lowest for tuition in the country."

Brown attributed UNC-P's ranking to the financial aid available for nontraditional students, which comprise a large percentage of the school's student population.

But Ort said that UNC-CH has adequately met the needs of lower-income students.

She said the University aids lower-income students partially through "hold harmless" grants, in which the school covers any tuition increases for these students.

Ort said several recently implemented programs, including a state-funded grant program, were not included in the report, which used information from 1998.

"I don't think they have the right snapshot of what's going on at (UNC-CH)."

The State & National Editor can be reached at stntdesk@unc.edu.