The UNC-CH BOT approved a one-year, $400 tuition increase proposal Jan. 24. East Carolina University also has requested an identical increase. The UNC-system Board of Governors will vote on tuition proposals March 6.
Wayne Walcott, UNC-C senior assistant for academic affairs, said the tuition increase might encounter opposition from the BOG. "The only thing we can say is that it's not a slam dunk," he said.
But Walcott said there is a need for the money. "We have to have the revenue," he said. "We've been concerned with our ability to offer quality education."
Walcott said the tuition increase will provide funds for faculty salaries, student services and financial aid. "Twenty-five percent of the money will go to financial aid," he said. "Forty-five percent will be for faculty salaries, and 30 percent will go to student services."
Walcott said students were made aware of the issue and few opposed the increase. But UNC-C Student Body President Brett Pendergrass, who attended the meeting, said he was not pleased.
"The whole board was not present," he said. "I am outspokenly against and completely disgusted with the way it was handled. It was a hasty decision."
Pendergrass said the state legislature does not adequately fund universities, forcing them to find funding elsewhere.
"It's necessary because the state won't give us any more money," he said. "But I don't agree that every time the university needs money, they send students a bill."
