UNC's in-state hikes cool off

Tuition expected to go up average 1.2%, fee hikes 4.5%

CHAPEL HILL -- North Carolina students attending UNC system campuses could get a break on tuition increases in the 2008-09 academic year, mainly because of significantly higher appropriations from the legislature last year.

Across the system, tuition is expected to rise by 1.2 percent on average, and general required fees are slated to increase by an average of 4.5 percent. A committee of the UNC Board of Governors approved the rates Thursday and the full board is expected to vote on them today.

Increases vary based on how much money each campus received from the legislature for growth, operations of new buildings and new programs. Campuses that received more money are limited in the amount of increases they can implement, according to the UNC board's four-year plan for tuition.

Overall tuition and fees for North Carolina undergraduates are expected to rise 2.8 percent at N.C. State, 2.4 percent at N.C. Central and 1 percent at UNC-Chapel Hill.

Proposed combined tuition and fees for state residents are $5,143 at NCSU, $3,690 at NCCU and $5,228 at UNC-CH. Out-of-state students will pay a proposed $17,441 at NCSU, $13,434 at NCCU and $22,126 at UNC-CH. These are annual rates and do not include costs of dorm rooms, food and books.

Students at Thursday's meeting said they were relieved with the proposed rates but cautioned that rough times are ahead for families during an economic recession. Parents and students could face job losses, said Cody Grasty, the student member of the board and a graduate student at Appalachian State University.

"We urge the board to think slim numbers -- for a couple of years, anyway," he said.

UNC President Erskine Bowles pointed out that the proposed increases are below inflation.

"That can only happen because we have a very generous legislature and we're working to control costs," Bowles said.

According to the board's current tuition policy, tuition increases are capped at 6.5 percent, but that ceiling is lowered if a campus receives appropriations greater than the historical average of 6 percent. Fee increases are also capped at 6.5 percent.

This year, NCCU and UNC-CH were not allowed to raise tuition for North Carolina undergraduates because of higher appropriations. N.C. State's cap was set at 6.5 percent, but the university asked for only a 2.7 percent increase in tuition.

Peter Barnes, an NCSU freshman from Raleigh, said he was happy his university was not pushing the increase to the limit.

"It's a matter of controlling the fire," he said. "It's always going to go up."

The board-mandated caps apply only to state residents.

UNC-CH Student Body President Eve Carson said the heavy annual increases in out-of-state tuition worry many students.

"That is an area of concern in terms of thinking about accountability and predictability in tuition increases," she said.