UNC joins fray on immigrant tuition

The system will review its position on whether to give in-state tuition to those who come here illegally

CHAPEL HILL -- Joining the state's community colleges in the debate over how to treat illegal immigrants who seek college educations, the University of North Carolina system will study the costs and benefits of offering in-state tuition to undocumented residents at its 16 university campuses.

In-state tuition would save illegal immigrants who attend college thousands of dollars a year, putting higher education within the reach of many who cannot afford it now. In-state tuition rates range from $1,500 to $3,700, compared with $10,000 to $20,000 for out-of-state students.

"We can't stick our heads in the sand," system President Erskine Bowles said Thursday. "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 study was the recommendation of the UNC Tomorrow Commission, a group of business, community and academic leaders. Bowles established the 28-member commission to suggest ways that the university can better serve the state in the midst of a changing economy.

Bowles and the commission took a cautious approach to the tuition issue, which has been highly controversial.

A related controversy erupted this month over admission policies at state community colleges. Top officials there announced that all campuses should admit illegal immigrants as students but charge out-of-state tuition. The decision drew nationwide criticism and the opposition of all five gubernatorial candidates.

Opponents of the policies say taxpayer money should not be spent educating people who are in the country illegally. Some argue that the practice robs resources from American students and encourages illegal immigration.

The UNC group did not support or oppose the tuition move. Members said the university system should do extensive study before deciding whether to ask the legislature to change state law, which prohibits campuses from offering in-state tuition to illegal immigrants.

In harm's way

Regardless, Bowles acknowledged that the study is likely to put the state's university system at the center of an issue that has exposed deep divisions in the past.

Legislators from both parties advocated changing the law in 2005, but their bill failed after sparking a rowdy debate and threats of violence against Hispanic advocates.

On Thursday, Edenton Mayor Roland Vaughan was the only commission member to speak in opposition.

"It's a slippery slope," Vaughan said. "There are documented citizens of this state who can't get their children into the campuses."

The state's universities already admit illegal immigrants who graduate from U.S. high schools. UNC guidelines adopted in 2004 say illegal immigrants can attend if they pay out-of-state rates.

Out of reach

Those rates, coupled with ineligibility for financial aid, make attending college impossible for many illegal immigrants.

In a draft report released Thursday, the commission made a host of suggestions for new university initiatives, which included enhancing global competitiveness, helping high schools cut dropout rates, improving health care and protecting the environment.

In a section devoted to helping under-served populations, such as black males and Hispanics, the commission said the university should examine "whether and under what circumstances, if any, undocumented students who graduate from North Carolina high schools and who are academically qualified for admission to a UNC institution should be charged in-state tuition."

The report recommends studying the legal issues involved. It also asks the university system to calculate the cost of educating illegal immigrants, along with the cost to society of allowing a fast-growing population to be effectively excluded from a college eduction.