Board freezes tuition at UNC System schools for in-state students. But fees will rise.
For the fifth straight year, tuition is frozen for North Carolina students looking to attend UNC System universities.
The Board of Governors voted Thursday to freeze tuition for all in-state students, though some campuses requested tuition increases for out-of-state undergraduate and graduate students. UNC-Chapel Hill, N.C. State University, Appalachian State University, Winston-Salem State University and the UNC School of the Arts each increased tuition rates for nonresident undergraduate and graduate students.
“We’ve made some hard choices in order to keep tuition in check, but I believe it’s been worth it,” UNC System President Peter Hans said.
In North Carolina, average tuition and debt at public universities has actually declined over the past five years, he said.
“It sends a resounding message to the next generation that the people’s university remains within their reach,” Hans said.
The UNC system weighted average for annual undergraduate in-state tuition and fees is $7,056, compared to the national average of $10,560.
Hans also noted that in addition to increasing accessibility, five-year graduation rates across the system have reached a record high at about 71%.
Increases in student fees
While tuition won’t rise, the board voted to increase student fees for health services and campus security starting in Fall 2021. That money will address costs related to the coronavirus pandemic and the recruitment, retention and training of campus police officers.
Students will pay between $10 and $88 extra for health services fees, depending on the campus.
The student campus security fee will go up $30 per student at most UNC System campuses, excluding those where it would exceed the 3% increase cap.
Individual campuses are instructed to use the money for campus police officer salaries, training, substance abuse counseling services, suicide prevention and intervention, Title IX and CLERY Act compliance, and investigators and hearing officers for serious offenses, such as sexual violence.
Board members heard reports about the need for additional funding and debated whether student fees are the best way to address that.
Some student leaders strongly opposed the campus security fee, including Isaiah Green, student board member and president of the UNC System’s Association of Student Governments.
Green said after the fee was proposed earlier this year, students across the system spoke to campus police chiefs and financial administrators about how the money would be used. Green said they didn’t get clear answers about how it would solve the problems of individual campuses and this would be just “throwing money at a problem” without a clear plan.
UNC-CH undergraduate and graduate student leaders also sent a letter to Hans and the board expressing their concern with the campus security fee increase.
Many campus constituents have argued that institutions need to reduce their overall police presence and question whether a larger law enforcement agency makes students, faculty, or staff feel safer, the letter said.
This “top-down decision” to charge students more money for campus security “will only sow further distrust and frustration in our campus communities,” the letter said.
But board members decided student fees were the best mechanism to address the challenge of hiring qualified campus law enforcement officers and improving their equipment and training.
UNC System budget request
The board approved the 2021-23 base budget for $2.96 billion to be sent to the governor and General Assembly for approval. The base budget largely reflects the prior fiscal year’s authorized budget and actual expenditures.
The UNC System’s total request from the state is about $3 billion for 2021-22 and $3.1 billion for 2022-23. Priorities include funding for building reserves, enrollment growth and support of the NC Promise program.
The board also approved $35.5 million for new construction projects that were previously authorized by the General Assembly. Those include a STEM building at N.C. State, the UNC-CH business school, ECU’s Brody School of Medicine and a Health Sciences Center at UNC Pembroke.
This story was originally published February 18, 2021 at 5:43 PM with the headline "Board freezes tuition at UNC System schools for in-state students. But fees will rise.."
