Group presents 3 tuition schemes

Tuition at the University would see moderate increases under a proposal finalized Thursday night by the Tuition Task Force - but many steps still remain in the process.

After months of consideration, the task force developed three recommendations for the UNC Board of Trustees that call for raising in-state tuition by $250 to $350 and out-of-state tuition by $800 to $1200.

If the plan were approved, it could generate more than $10 million in revenue to go toward the task force's four stated priorities.

Under the task force's guidelines, 40 percent of the funds would be devoted to student aid, with the remaining money equally divided among increasing teaching assistants' salaries, improving the faculty-student ratio and increasing faculty salaries.

"After funding need-based aid, all these priorities are used directly in affecting the classroom experience for students," said Provost Robert Shelton, co-chairman of the task force.

The committee's recommendations reflect a desire to provide for the University's needs coupled with an understanding of the effects increases have on applicants and enrollees.

"We took all of our circumstances into account when making these decisions," said Student Body President Matt Calabria.

"We had to consider the Board of Trustees, the (UNC-system) Board of Governors and the General Assembly, as well as market forces and demonstrated needs of the University."

While the committee endorsed all three scenarios of increases, the preferred increases were $350 for in-state students and $800 for out-of-state students - hikes of about 11 percent and 5 percent, respectively.

The other suggested scenarios ask for less money from in-state students and more from out-of-staters.

One scenario would hike tuition $300 in state and $1,000 out of state; another calls for increases of $250 for residents and $1,200 for nonresidents.

"Last year the task force gave one recommendation, take it or leave it," said Trustee Nelson Schwab, who also serves on the task force.

"I like (this year's) approach because we said, 'Here are the real needs. Now how do we deal with them? We can do it in a lot of different ways.'"

The task force recommended that funding for merit-based aid should be increased but that money for those scholarships should not stem from tuition increases.

The committee also suggested in its report that officials should consider graduate and undergraduate tuition separately because its recommendations are based on a price elasticity study that included only undergraduates.

The study revealed that the University has room to increase tuition rates to the levels of its competitors without negatively affecting enrollment.

The BOT will consider the task force's report when finalizing its proposal, scheduled to be sent to the UNC-system Board of Governors in January.

The BOG then will send its recommendations to the legislature for final approval.

Calabria said he thinks the BOT will be receptive to the task force's conclusions.

"We have been very thorough and more proactive than in past years to layout the demonstrated need of the University, making the justification of our decisions clear to the trustees."

Contact the University Editor at udesk@unc.edu.