Members of the UNC system’s governing body admitted Thursday that they simply will be going through the motions when receiving proposals for campus-initiated tuition increases.
And Jim Phillips, chairman of the board’s Budget and Finance Committee, made it clear that any requests to raise in-state tuition likely will be struck down.
“It is my reading of the board that we are unlikely to approve them,” he said. “But if we’re going to consider them, it seems that we ought to truly look at them.”
While the board opposes tuition increases for in-state students, it left the door open for hikes in nonresident tuition.
Requests must be turned in to the system’s finance department by Jan. 31, and the Budget and Finance Committee will discuss the proposals at its February meeting in Wilmington.
The full Board of Governors is expected to vote on proposals in Chapel Hill on March 18.
UNC-Chapel Hill’s Board of Trustees is expected to finalize its tuition increase proposal Jan. 26. Members are looking at three options, all of which increase both resident and nonresident tuition.
Phillips asked that campuses seeking approval for an increase have the appropriate personnel attend those meetings.
“I expect them to have done substantial work on why they need the money and what they’ve done to ensure access,” he said.