Engl101lee

UNC Tuition Increase

From Wikipedia, the free encyclopedia

The UNC tuition increase is a proposed 15.6 percent increase in tuition for students at The University of North Carolina at Chapel Hill. On November 17, 2011, the Board of Trustees for UNC-CH approved this tuition increase which is one of the largest increases in tuition in recent memory . The budget cuts in 2011 greatly effected the university and set this increased tuition plan in motion

Old Well

Budget Cuts in 2011

In July 2011, the public universities in North Carolina had to share a budget cut of $414 million. A panel of the 16-campus university system's Board of Governors agreed to divide up the budget cuts by forcing UNC Chapel Hill to take the lead. The distribution of spending cuts were determined using guidelines that included the percentage of low-income students and how many freshman came back for a second year of classes. Schools with fewer than 6,000 students got special consideration since they had less room to absorb budget cuts. Campuses better able to solicit donors or draw research grants were also considered. The Chapel Hill campus lost more than $100 million in 2011 .

Effects of Budget Cuts

Raising tuition is thought to be necessary by UNC officials. The state budget cuts have trimmed university spending by $231million since 2007 and this has caused hundreds of staff positions to be eliminated, faculty and staff salary has not increased since 2008, and class sizes have increased since courses have been cut. Provost Bruce Carney said more than 130 faculty members have left UNC since 2009. UNC faces a decrease in faculty retention rate due to the lack of funds. UNC has lost a vast percentage of faculty members to competing universities. Only 37 percent of faculty that received job offers elsewhere remained in the UNC system in 2010 .

Tuition Increase Proposal

On Thursday, November 17, 2011, the Board of Trustees for the University of North Carolina at Chapel Hill approved one of the largest increases in tuition in recent memory. Under the UNC-CH plan, tuition for in-state undergraduates would go up by $800 in 2012-13 and at least $583 a year over the following four years. Tuition for in-state undergraduate students would be $7,795 and out-of-state students would pay $28,442. In-state graduate students would pay $9,689, and out-of-state students would pay $25,779 .

UNC Students Response

UNC students angrily protested on November 17, 2011 as the plan to raise tuition set into motion. Students of the "Strike the Hikes" coalition gathered in the Pit and marched to the Carolina Inn, where the meeting was held. They delivered postcards signed by 1,000 students in opposition to the tuition increase. Students for a Democratic Society organized the protest. They believe that the university should dip into its $2.2 billion endowment before forcing students to make up for state budget cuts. Students believe that they are graduating with too much debt or being forced to stop their education altogether because of rising costs. UNC officials note that they cannot tap the endowment because that money was donated for specific uses, such as scholarships and other financial aid . The Board of Trustees approved the 15.6 percent tuition increase for in-state students in November 2011, rejecting a proposal by Student Body President Mary Cooper to delay the vote until December 2011. Cooper asked members on the board to consider a delay so students and administrators could work on a proposal that would not draw so heavily on current students. Chancellor Holden Thorp was in opposition to this idea. He said that trustees needed to approve a proposal so administrators could lobby more effectively for faculty salary raises. Cooper, the lone student representative on the board, was the only trustee to vote against the proposal. "Moderation is key in the midst of trying times," student body president Mary Cooper said, "A 15.6 percent increase is untenable, especially for current students" .

Future Plans

The UNC Board of Governors and state lawmakers must still approve the increase in tuition proposed by the Board of Trustees. Specifically, the Committee on Budget and Finance on the Board of Governors will discuss the tuition situation. The UNC-System Board of Governors will vote on the tuition proposals from system schools in February, 2011. The expected date of the meeting is February 10, 2011, however, this date is subject to change..

Your submission at Articles for creation

UNC Tuition Increase, which you submitted to Articles for creation, has been created.

• The article has been assessed as Start-Class, which is recorded on the article's talk page. You may like to take a look at the grading scheme to see how you can improve the article.
• You are more than welcome to continue making quality contributions to Wikipedia. Note that because you are a logged-in user, you can create articles yourself, and don't have to post a request. However, you are more than welcome to continue submitting work to Articles for Creation.
• If you have any questions, you are welcome to ask at the Help desk or on the reviewer's talk page
• If you would like to help us improve this process, please consider

Thank you for helping improve Wikipedia!

Hallows AG (talk) 03:35, 11 December 2011 (UTC)