G ov. Pat McCrory took a step in the right direction last week when he announced he would call on the General Assembly to approve in-state tuition for veterans attending community colleges. While this decision should be lauded, it will not be enough until veterans are granted in-state tuition at all UNC-system schools.
Currently, military personnel who have resided here but are stationed outside the state are not considered legal residents of N.C. once they leave active service, and are not granted in-state tuition. Furthermore, there are many legal hoops to jump through both during their service and after in order to regain in-state status.
McCrory stated that he wanted veterans’ skills to help build North Carolina’s economy. If McCrory is truly committed to this statement, then he will realize it is imperative to gain the skills of veterans that would like go to college at any type of institution.
The UNC Board of Governors passed a resolution last year to request that the General Assembly give the Board the authority to determine residency for veterans.
It would behoove the General Assembly to approve both of theses requests — granting in-state tuition to veterans at community colleges should not be a substitute for the BOG’s request.
More than 60,000 people will separate from the military throughout the next five years, and in-state tuition will be a major factor in drawing these veterans to the state.
Granted, the approval of in-state tuition may result in a loss of revenue for UNC-Systems schools, but it is a loss that is small to bear in comparison to all that veterans can do for the state and its economy.
