UNC-CH is not the only school proposing unprecedented tuition hikes for in-state students.
Several UNC-system school leaders are deliberating this week on whether they should take advantage of a new system policy that allows for tuition increase proposals to exceed a 6.5 percent mandated cap.
A clause in the system’s new Four Year Tuition Plan allows universities to “catch up” to their peer institutions by proposing a one-time increase above the 6.5 percent cap as long as they remain in the bottom quarter of their public peers.
UNC-CH’s Board of Trustees’ budget, finance and audit committee approved Wednesday a 15.6 percent tuition increase proposal for in-state students, and other schools might soon follow suit.
All universities must submit tuition proposals to the system’s General Administration by Dec. 9, said Charlie Perusse, the system’s vice president for finance.
The administration will review the proposals and submit them to the UNC-system Board of Governors at its Jan. 12 meeting. The Board of Governors will not vote on the tuition proposals until February, he said.
Appalachian State University, N.C. Agricultural and Technical State University, UNC-Greensboro, Elizabeth City State University and the UNC School of the Arts have all discussed submitting tuition proposals to their respective Boards of Trustees with increases above the cap.
Reade Taylor, vice chancellor for business affairs at UNC-G, said substantial tuition increases are needed to maintain a quality education.
“If everybody else increases tuition and restores class sections and one school doesn’t, and they can’t offer the classes to their students, what’s their long term viability?”
