Tuition Proposals Set for Task Force Vote

After months of debate, mostly centering on the plan's distribution of tuition revenue, the group will choose from three specific proposals crafted by task force Co-Chairman Provost Robert Shelton. Shelton was unavailable for comment Wednesday.

The proposals call for three-year increases of $300, $350 or $400 per year, generating $20.5 million, $23.9 million or $27.3 million respectively.

All three proposals earmark funds for faculty salary increases and a percentage increase to close the gap in teaching assistant salaries and set aside 40 percent of increases for need-based financial aid. They also provide that any excess funds be used for either financial aid or TA salaries, with the distribution at the provost's discretion.

Faculty Council Chairwoman Sue Estroff said the council will discuss the proposals at its meeting Friday. "The main question here is, 'What should tuition money be used for?'" she said.

The proposals have resulted in much debate among students, faculty and staff because of the possibility of using tuition revenue for staff salary increases.

The $400 per year proposal allocates 42 percent, or $11.5 million, for faculty salaries while allocating 11 percent, or $3 million, for staff salary increases. The $350 per year proposal allocates 48 percent, which will still equal $11.5 million, for faculty salaries and only 4 percent, or $900,000, for staff salaries. The $300 per year proposal is the only one that does not include money for staff salary increases.

Student Body President Jen Daum, who spoke out previously against using tuition money for staff salaries, said her position on the task force reflects students' opinions."Students have decided that faculty salaries and TA stipends are the only appropriate areas to use tuition revenue for," she said.

Task force member Rebekah Burford, a junior, said she is in favor of the $300 per year proposal. "The staff is a very valuable part of the University," she said. "But tuition money is paid by students for their education and increasing the quality of their education. It is the state legislature's responsibility to fund staff salaries."

But Employee Forum Chairman Tommy Griffin said the General Assembly needs to do a better job in funding education. "If the General Assembly provided enough funds, we wouldn't have to decide upon a tuition increase," he said.

Griffin also said the task force should distribute the increases more evenly in the proposal they adopt. "I'd like to see them split it 50-50, half for faculty and half for staff," he said. "We're not asking to be rich, we're just asking for a reasonable salary."

Estroff, who has yet to decide which proposal is best, said the issue of staff salary increases is problematic. "We have to avoid saying whether one group is better than the other," she said.

Burford and Estroff both said task force members have done a great job in devising the best tuition increase possible for the University. "They have come along better than in years past," Estroff said.

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