UNC to study in-state tuition for illegal immigrants
Published: Thu, Dec. 06, 2007 03:05PM
Modified Thu, Dec. 06, 2007 05:17PM
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closeCHAPEL HILL -- The University of North Carolina system will study the costs and benefits of offering in-state tuition to illegal immigrants on its 16 campuses, system president Erskine Bowles said today.
"We can't stick our heads in the sand," Bowles said. "These people are here, and we have to deal with it. The last thing in the world we want to do is create another permanent underclass." Bowles said the system will undertake the study in response to the recommendation of the UNC Tomorrow Commission, a group of business, community and academic leaders that issued a report Thursday. Bowles established the commission to suggest ways that the university can better serve the state in the midst of a changing economy.
Neither Bowles nor the commission advocated for or against offering in-state tuition. And they pointed out that the legislature would have to change the law to allow the reduced tuition for illegal immigrants.
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Bowles said the university system will do extensive study before deciding whether to advocate for a change in the law.
The state's universities already admit illegal immigrants who graduate from U.S. high schools. UNC guidelines adopted in 2004 say they can attend if they pay out-of-state rates, which range from $10,000 to $20,000, compared with $1,500 to $3,700 for in-state students.
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