Trustees to Act on $400 Tuition Increase

The meeting is open to the public and will take place at 8 a.m. in the Morehead Faculty Lounge.

Provost Robert Shelton said he will present to the BOT the $400 increase plan, which the Task Force on Tuition recommended Jan. 15. Under the proposal, revenue from the tuition increase would go to fund faculty salaries and decrease the faculty-student ratio in the College of Arts and Sciences and the School of Journalism and Mass Communication.

If the BOT chooses to act on tuition, members have the choice of adopting the task force's recommendation, modifying it or forming their own proposal.

The plan the BOT chooses at the meeting will then go to the UNC-system Board of Governors for approval and finally to the N.C. General Assembly. If accepted, an increase could go into effect for the 2002-03 school year.

"At the meeting, I will highlight a couple of issues from November's BOT meeting concerning campus-based tuition as well as describe the principles discussed by the task force," said Shelton, who served as a co-chairman of the task force. "It is important to show a continuity of discussion on this issue between November and January."

The task force, which was composed of faculty, students and BOT members, first met Dec. 11 to discuss the need for a campus-based tuition increase.

After the formulation of a proposal Jan. 15, Justin Young, task force co-chairman and student body president, helped organize a student group to create an alternate tuition proposal. The group met three times and decided to form a list of demands addressing increased student involvement in tuition-related issues in lieu of presenting their own tuition proposal.

Young and his Cabinet also created an online survey to assess student preferences about tuition. The survey, conducted Tuesday, showed that a majority of the 597 students who voted prefer no tuition increase.

Young said he will make a presentation at the BOT meeting today based on the student group's demands and the survey's findings.

"I hope to bring to the table student concerns -- issues that weren't covered by the task force," Young said. "It is important for me to show the impact that (a tuition increase) would have on campus as well as throughout the state."

Along with the presentation, Young helped plan a student rally sponsored by the Coalition for Responsible Tuition Decisions, a student group formed to fight tuition increases. Young said the demonstration, which begins at 9:30 a.m. at the Old Well, also will allow students to voice their opinions about tuition.

But Faculty Council Chairwoman Sue Estroff said the decision mostly will hinge on the personal opinions of the trustees, despite the viewpoints expressed by Young and other students. Estroff is not scheduled to give a formal presentation at the meeting but will be present to answer questions related to faculty salaries.

"Students could have an impact, but that depends on how students conduct themselves," Estroff said. "However, this is a board that works on working well together, so there probably won't be a lot of disagreement."

But Shelton said the BOT's decision-making process will not be an easy one.

"It is important to remember that this is a complex issue that involves balancing various sources of income, so I suspect that a variety of views will be heard," Shelton said.

"I would not be surprised that of the 15 different BOT members, there could be 15 different opinions and answers."

The University Editor can be reached at udesk@unc.edu.