In the aftermath of record state budget cuts, North Carolina's public universities are bracing for an angst-ridden debate over tuition increases this year - with some large hikes under consideration.
A tuition advisory group at UNC-Chapel Hill will gather in a few weeks to vote on a recommendation to raise tuition and fees by as much as $2,800 for in-state undergraduates - an increase of nearly 40 percent if enacted in one year. Recognizing that such an increase might not be palatable, the panel will consider whether it should be spread out over two, three or maybe four years, Provost Bruce Carney said.
"That's such an enormous bite on the students," Carney said. "I personally can't see doing it all in one year, or maybe even two."
At N.C. Central University, students met for several hours Wednesday to discuss the issue, but campus leaders have not settled on a tuition number yet.
N.C. State University's advisory group has endorsed a plan to raise tuition by $330 for in-state undergraduates, a 6.4 percent increase, and $660 for graduate and out-of-state students. But Provost Warwick Arden said the university may consider a larger increase if UNC system leaders give the green light.
Any tuition plan would have to be approved by an individual campus's Board of Trustees, the UNC system's Board of Governors, and ultimately the state legislature.
For the past few years, the UNC system has instituted a 6.5 percent cap on both tuition and fee increases at the public universities. In a memo to campus leaders in October, the UNC system issued guidelines for next year's tuition requests, reiterating the 6.5 percent cap.
But the guidelines also said campuses could consider one-time adjustments to "catch up" to the tuition levels at public peer universities across the nation.
'A delicate dynamic'
While still in the discussion stages, the possible increase at UNC-CH, which touts itself as the perennial leader on the "best value" college rankings, is prompting talk of protests and petitions.
"There's a lot of anger and frustration," said Vishalee Patel, a sophomore from Charlotte who is a pre-med student.
UNC-CH's tuition is the second lowest among 10 public peer universities. And even if the university raises tuition and fees by $2,800, it would still be in the bottom quarter on the list.
U.S. public universities, which have seen their budgets slashed by state legislatures, are passing along bigger bills to students. Data released last week by the College Board show tuition rising more rapidly at public universities than at private ones.
In 2011-2012, average tuition and fees jumped 8.3 percent to $8,244 annually for in-state students at public campuses in the United States. The increase was 4.5 percent at private universities, which average $28,500 annually for tuition and fees. Tuition covers only a portion of higher education costs; students typically pay thousands of dollars more for rooms, meals and books.
Carney said the university must take steps to increase tuition after several years of state budget reductions, including a cut of 17.9 percent this year.
Students are noticing the impact, including bigger classes, fewer academic offerings and reduced library hours.
"We've got to do something pronto, to cover our students' course section needs, faculty salaries, and make a move to help restore the size of classes and other things," Carney said. "We've been such an incredible deal for so long, and as long as the state has supplied us with the level of support they have, we've been OK. But when they take $100 million away from us, we face big holes."
Arden said his campus has suffered similar impacts from a state budget cut of $80 million.
"There's a delicate dynamic here," Arden said. "What we don't want to do is unnecessarily burden the students in this process. On the other side of the coin, we are incredibly low compared with our peers in terms of the cost of a world class education here, and we want to maintain that quality and that standard."
Protests foreseen
Campus protests over tuition are nothing new. Students, feeling empowered by the Occupy Wall Street movement, are likely to respond to proposals for large tuition increases.
"I expect that some students will be very upset and will make it plainly obvious to us," Carney said. "But a number of students understand the need. They understand the value of their degree here. It's what brought them here."
Patel said it will be important for the administration to open the lines of communication with students and hear their views.
"Right now, it's just an unsettling feeling because some students don't know if they're going to even be able to come back next year," Patel said. "It's just a scary time."
