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Task force
recommends
tuition increase
The university’s tuition administrative advisory committee has recommended to the chancellor a tuition increase of $325 for all students for 2006-07, while the fee review committee has recommended increases totaling $90.60. The combined tuition and fee increase of $415.60 is below the $451 limit set by the UNC Board of Governors (BOG).
The board of governors froze in-state undergraduate tuition for all 16 UNC System campuses this year; a $300 Campus Initiated Tuition Increase (CITI) was approved for out-of-state undergraduates and all graduate students. The BOG approved a $250 increase for in-state students and $300 for out-of-state students for the 2004-05 academic year.
“No one likes to increase tuition,” said Provost Larry Nielsen, co-chair of the tuition committee. “But as we have said repeatedly, we cannot face state budget cuts year after year and expect to maintain quality.
“The university’s CITI funds have been carefully targeted toward need-based financial aid, maintaining quality in classrooms and labs by adding needed course sections, and improving faculty salaries. (CITI dollars) also have been used for the graduate student support plan, a highly competitive support package to attract the best graduate students to the university.”
NC State’s total for tuition and fees for the current year ranks lowest among its 16-university peer group. In-state undergraduate tuition and fees total $4,338. NC State has provided an increasing amount of need-based financial aid as it has raised tuition, with nearly $25 million committed annually.
With expected tuition and fee increases at other universities following national trends, the recommended increases at NC State would leave the university with the lowest tuition in its peer group. (See the NC State Planning and Analysis Web site for peer comparison data.)
“The committee looked at a wide range of information,” Nielsen said, “including the work done in forwarding tuition increase requests over the last two years, and analyzed tuition increases nationally to arrive at its recommendation.”
The tuition committee included a cross-section of the campus population, including faculty, staff and students.
Fee increases include $25 for athletics operations, $21.60 for student center operations, $16 for the transit operation fee, $15 for athletics debt service, $13 for student health service and $7 for recreational sports. Fees for student publications, student handbook and student self-service registration will decrease by a total of $7.
An open meeting was slated for Thursday, Oct. 27, to allow students and other members of the university community an opportunity to comment on the tuition and fee proposals before the chancellor makes his recommendation to the board of trustees. The board will meet on Nov. 17-18.
Posted Oct. 28, 2005
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