System schools examine tuition

As widely expected, the overwhelming majority of UNC-system schools are readying proposals for campus-based tuition increases for the 2005-06 academic year.

Mark Lanier, special assistant to the chancellor at UNC-Wilmington, summed up the mood of campus administrators across the system.

"I completely understand the reluctance to increase tuition," he said. "No one wants to increase tuition, but we find that in order to provide the kind of quality that our students expect - and that we want to offer - campus-based increases are a source that we reluctantly have to go to."

At almost all of the system's 16 campuses, tuition task forces and boards of trustees have been meeting to craft proposals that focus on funding for classroom needs.

Most schools have yet to finalize the amount of their proposed increases, and the system's Board of Governors is expected to issue guidance on that subject sometime before its January meeting.

The board expects tuition proposals from system schools starting in January and will likely continue debating through March.

Last year, the BOG accepted requests of up to $300, ultimately allowing a $250 hike for N.C. State University and UNC-Chapel Hill and an increase of $225 at 13 other schools.

The board directed that the additional funds be earmarked for reducing class size and adding course sections for core curricula.

"When the campus-based increases were approved last year, the Budget and Finance Committee stated explicitly that was a priority they wanted to see addressed," said BOG Chairman Brad Wilson.

In considering this year's proposals, the board will closely examine how effectively campuses have used last year's funding.

"They'll provide supporting data with their request," Wilson said. "That data is evaluated, verified and validated by the staff at General Administration before it comes to Budget and Finance Committee."

The committee also can question campus administrators before making final decisions, and board members last year held lengthy meetings with chancellors and finance officers before approving the scaled-back requests.

"It's a very intense examination and undertaking," Wilson said.

Campus officials across the UNC system are hoping to persuade the BOG that another round of increases would be well-spent.

"It's all earmarked for the academic area," said Jane Helm, vice chancellor for business affairs at Appalachian State University. "It's either for faculty salaries, additional faculty or some form of academic support."

Without an increase, she said, "We would have to delay certain things that would affect academic programs."

Roger Killian, director of financial planning and budgets at UNC-Pembroke, said a tuition increase is needed to maintain the quality of the classroom experience.

"The number of our adjuncts and part-time faculty keeps increasing," he said. "We've been having double-digit enrollment growth for the last five years, and it reaches a point where there are simply not adequate funds to cover what needs to be covered."

Wilson said the board should be cautious in considering any tuition hikes this year but added that all proposals will receive a thorough hearing.

BOG member Brent Barringer described the difficulty of balancing university needs with a rising financial burden.

"It's much easier to ask than to say 'yes' or 'no'," he said. "The hard part is, will you say 'yes' or 'no' or somewhere in between?"

Contact the State & National Editor at stntdesk@unc.edu.