College students and their parents likely won’t be paying more money to cover tuition and fees at UNC System universities next year in light of the coronavirus pandemic.

The UNC System Board of Governors Committee on Budget and Finance voted Wednesday not to raise tuition and fees for the 2020-21 academic year. That proposal will be voted on by the full board at its May meeting.

Tuition for undergraduates who live in North Carolina has been frozen for the past two years. If there is no increase for this upcoming year, the average annual tuition and fees for undergraduate students at UNC System schools will be about $6,500 for in-state students and just under $20,000 for out-of-state students.

Several institutions offer the lowest tuition and fees among their peers for in-state undergraduate students, according to the UNC System.

The average annual tuition for graduate students would be $5,400 for North Carolina residents and about $19,000 for nonresidents, if the proposal is passed by the full board.

The board was planning to propose an increase in tuition and fees for the upcoming school year before the pandemic. Board members were considering a 2.5% increase in tuition per year for in-state students, which on average, is about $165. For out-of-state students, the increase would have been 1.6%, which is about $330.

At the graduate level, the board was considering a $108 increase (2%) for NC residents and a $280 increase (1.5%) for nonresidents.

At the meeting, there was some discussion about raising tuition for out-of-state students and increasing fees related to online education or health and medical needs related to the pandemic.

Board member Marty Kotis said he was reluctant to raise any costs for North Carolina citizens but would support those specific increases. That idea was dismissed.

Tuition and fees at each UNC System university

These decisions are being made at a time when university leaders don’t know what the fall semester will look like.

Leaders across the state are hoping campuses will be open and students and faculty can return to classrooms this fall, but they’re preparing for continued online learning and social distancing. That could mean changes in access to housing, dining, recreation and other campus facilities, which are all factored into the total cost of college.

Some students have filed lawsuits against their universities and the UNC System in an effort to get tuition and fees refunds as their campuses unexpectedly closed this spring. They say their college experience was taken away and they shouldn’t have to pay the full price for an online education they didn’t sign up for.

Here’s a breakdown of undergraduate tuition and fees at each university in the UNC System for the 2019-2020, which could remain for the 2020-2021 school year:

Here’s a summary of tuition for graduate students:

Kate Murphy

The News & Observer

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Kate Murphy covers higher education for The News & Observer. Previously, she covered higher education for the Cincinnati Enquirer on the investigative and enterprise team and USA Today Network. Her work has won state awards in Ohio and Kentucky and she was recently named a 2019 Education Writers Association finalist for digital storytelling. Support my work with a digital subscription