Opinion: Kenan-Flagler’s proposed fee sets a bad precedent

Affordability and equity are hallmark values of our University. These values are even cemented in Article 9 of North Carolina’s constitution, which reads: “public institutions of higher education, as far as practicable, (shall) be extended to the people of the State free of expense.”

We invoke these values now because of a proposal from the University’s business school to charge undergraduates in the Kenan-Flagler business major a full $3,000 more in fees per year — an effective tuition raise.

Undergraduates minoring in business would see a $1,500 fee increase per year. The fees would come into effect next academic year at the rates of $2,000 and $1,000 for majors and minors, respectively.

Though we are still working to understand the financial details and justifications behind this proposal, from the documents and interviews we have conducted thus far, we stand against this measure and urge undergraduates to make their voices heard by their student government representatives.

The all-student Student Fee Audit Committee (SFAC) serves as the first committee to review fee change proposals.

At the beginning of every other year, the fee review process moves from the SFAC to the Student Fee Advisory Subcommittee, the Tuition and Fee Advisory Task Force, the Chancellor, the Board of Trustees and then the decision lies with the Board of Governors.

Because this money is a fee and not a tuition raise, it cannot be put toward academic endeavors such as hiring professors; it can only be used for specific program implementation. Tuition, in contrast, is determined by the North Carolina General Assembly.

The fee is justified, according to the business school’s proposal, because business school students “feel they are getting more as a result of being a business major/minor than their main campus counterparts and recognize that they have not yet had to pay for this.” They also cite the expected earnings of a business school graduate and argue that the fee will help them expand programs such as career services and other programming for business students.

Our board objects to this prohibitively expensive non-academic fee increase. Should it pass, this fee would set a precedence of exceptionalism — that programs can charge students based off the perceived worth of the programs.

Students should have equal access to all areas of study. This editorial board is unconvinced by the submitted proposal that the business school has this key tenet of UNC’s values in mind. We will continue investigating the impact this proposal, if passed, would have on students with limited ability to pay.

In the meantime, it is crucially important that you — students, faculty and staff at the University — share your thoughts on this proposal with the Executive Branch of Student Government and through letters to the editor. This fee is being proposed through a fairly bureaucratic mechanism that can easily go unnoticed.

But it is precisely by paying attention to and engaging early with these avenues that we can insist our university lives up to its core values.