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University of North Carolina System Tuition Increases Are Within Guidelines

Posted on: Friday, 13 January 2006, 18:00 CST

By Jennifer Ferris, The Herald-Sun, Durham, N.C.

Jan. 13--CHAPEL HILL -- Proposed tuition increases for students on almost all the UNC system campuses are within guidelines set by the Board of Governors last November, officials said Thursday.

During a report to the board's Budget and Finance Committee, Jeff Davies, vice president of finance for the university system, said Appalachian State University is the only school he expects to come in above the maximum 10 percent tuition increase.

Exact increases at all the schools, including UNC Chapel Hill, won't be determined until the board meets in February, Davies said.

Thursday's committee meetings and today's full session are the first regular BOG meetings for the new university system president, Erskine Bowles. Hannah Gage, the chairman of the budget committee, said Bowles' arrival as the head of the system was one reason tuition decisions won't be made until later.

"We're waiting for the president to determine if he has all the information he needs," Gage said. "We delayed the decision because we wanted his input. It's appropriate to wait until we get that."

Another reason for the delay was that many of the individual schools' boards of trustees have not met to discuss tuition increases, Gage said.

In addition to the 10 percent cap, the university system's tuition task force also asked that tuition for each campus' in-state students remain in the bottom quarter of the average increase for similar schools. Increases for out-of-state students may be below the top-quarter of the same listing.

Board member Bradley Adcock asked to receive news of the increases well before the February meetings, where the board will be asked to approve the new tuition rates.

"We need to get a chance to digest the numbers," Adcock explained. "We don't want any surprises."

The committee also received a progress report on the status of the UNC construction bond program.

Completed projects and land acquisition have now used up $1.1 billion of the available $2.5 billion in funds from the bonds that were endorsed by voters in 2000.

At the end of the financial reports, Bowles praised Davies, who has submitted his resignation and will begin work March 1 as vice chancellor of business at UNC Greensboro.

"The information we have is really terrific," Bowles said. "There is no question we know where we are financially."

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Source: The Herald-Sun

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