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How Lottery Leaders Stack Up
Erskine Bowles, Steve Dunlap, SalariesPeer-based tuition to get a look
Erskine Bowles, BOG, UNC system, tuitionUNC system plans cap on tuition hikes
UNC system, BOG, tuitionUNC board may approve tuition guidelines
UNC system, tuitionGrants Awarded to Help the Environment
The Animal and Poultry Waste Management
Apathy,
contentment blamed for low election turnout
Andrew Taylor
Excerpt:
Region Salutes Veterans
ROTSC, Veterans Day
Veteran
finds he has eager audience
Veterans Day, former student
Amato's
trooper deal OK
Chuch Amato
New CD
Lists Healthy Activities For Youths
Joint venture with Wake county
American
Girl dolls
Special Olympics
Calendar
WACHOVIA EXECUTIVE LECTURE SERIES, College of Management
For responsive
government
Workshops, N.C. State University Faculty Club
Grants Awarded to Help the Environment
Nov. 11, 2005
Southern Pines Pilot
By staff report
© Copyright 2005
State Attorney General Roy Cooper has announced that close to $2.5 million in grants will go to improve water quality, protect North Carolina rivers and help farmers clean up hog lagoons.
The grants are part of a larger agreement reached in 2000 with Smithfield Foods, the world’s largest pork producer.
“Cleaner water helps our economy grow and our people thrive,” Cooper said. “These projects will help undo past damage and ensure a healthier future for our state’s waterways.”
Projects were selected to receive grants based on important goals of the Smithfield Agreement, environmental enhancement and providing farmers with better technology to manage hog waste. Cooper’s office sought to award grants to projects that will benefit eastern North Carolina, home to most of the state’s large hog farms.
The Animal and Poultry Waste Management Center at North Carolina State University has been awarded $1,246,629 to improve farmers’ access to cleaner technologies to process and treat hog waste. Funds will help provide additional research related to two technologies that have met the environmental performance standards set under the Smithfield Agreement.
A grant of $500,000 will fund efforts by the N.C. Foundation for Soil and Water Conservation to close inactive hog waste lagoons. Using previous grants, the Foundation has already closed 66 lagoons and implemented waste management and water quality projects.
The N.C. Coastal Federation will receive $310,000 to restore forests, tidal salt marsh, wetlands and streams within the White Oak River Basin.
Ducks Unlimited will receive $400,000 for its Sound CARE Initiative to protect 22,000 acres of wetland habitat in eastern North Carolina.
A grant of $33,900 will go to the Eno River Association to protect drinking water and endangered species through land conservation.
These grants are the fourth in a series to be awarded to environmental programs under an agreement with Smithfield Foods Inc. According to the agreement signed on July 25, 2000, Smithfield agreed to provide $50 million over 25 years to improve the environment.
Nov. 11, 2005
NBC 17.com
By staff report
© Copyright 2005
RALEIGH, N.C. -- Wake County and North Carolina State University have put together a CD-ROM to help area parents find activities that interest their children and keep them active.
The disk, which is free and available from the Wake County Health Department, provides dozens of ways for toddlers to teens to remain healthy through exercise.
"With the computer interests and the PlayStations and the school interests and studying, it's getting hard for kids to get out and get the kind of exercise they need," said Carol Moore, of the Raleigh Parks and Recreation Department.
The CD allows parents to click on a neighborhood and enter the ages of their children to pull up a list of activities.
"There's a long list -- everything from aerobics, kickboxing, dance, yoga, Pilates," parent Sheyenne Kreamer said. "It's a great resource for any parent who’s concerned and wants to encourage a healthy lifestyle."
Excerpt: Region Salutes Veterans
Nov. 11, 2005
NBC 17.com
By staff report
© Copyright 2005
Military veterans will be honored with words, wreaths, parades and other activities scheduled throughout the weekend across central North Carolina.
Here is a breakdown of area Veterans Day commemorations:
Raleigh
Wake County Veteran's Day Parade
The parade will begin between 9:45 a.m. and 9:55 a.m. and will finish around
10:50 a.m. At 11:00 a.m. the Formal Ceremony will begin with a flyover of Air
Force aircraft. After the parade, please join us for the Formal Cermony at
the Veterans Monument on the South Side (Edenton Street) of the Capitol.
The parade will begin around the Lane Street and Salisbury Street intersection. It will travel South and turn left onto Edenton Street. The main reviewing area will be along Edenton Street from Salisbury to South Wilmington Streets. South Wilmington Street will be closed from Edenton Street around the Archdale building beginning around 8:30 a.m. for the parade lineup.
The state parking lot shown as Parade Participant PARKING is closed to the public. It will be used by the parade participants for parking and assembly. There will be a few handicapped spots open in that lot by entering the Edenton Street entrance.
All other State Government Parking Lots are open to the public on Veterans Day.
N.C. State
ROTC cadets and cadre at North Carolina State University will commemorate Veterans
Day with an early-morning run and a ceremony at the Belltower on Friday.
The run will begin at 6 a.m. in front of Carmichael Gym and finish at the
Belltower. The post-run ceremony at the Belltower will recognize North Carolina
prisoners of war, soldiers missing in action and other veterans, followed
by the playing of "Taps."
Nov. 11, 2005
News & Observer
By staff report
© Copyright 2005
HOW LOTTERY LEADERS STACK UP
Salaries for some lottery jobs, as well as some high-profile public jobs in North Carolina:
SALARY/JOB
$425,000Incoming UNC system President Erskine Bowles
$350,000Tennessee lottery director Rebecca Paul
$274,797UNC-Chapel Hill Chancellor James Moeser
$225,000Georgia lottery director Margaret DeFrancisco
$207,000New Mexico lottery director Tom Shaheen
$201,109UNC system Vice President for Finance Jeff Davies
$200,000N.C. State football defensive coordinator Steve Dunlap
$195,000South Carolina lottery director Ernie Passailaigue
$175,000Oklahoma lottery director James Scroggins
$133,250North Carolina chief technology officer George Bakolia
$128,667Virginia lottery interim director Donna VanCleave
$124,471North Carolina budget director David McCoy
$121,391Gov. Mike Easley
$110,000Texas lottery director Reagan Greer
$100,000Indiana lottery director Esther Schneider
NOTE: FIGURES DO NOT INCLUDE BONUSES. DATA ARE FROM STATE AGENCIES, LOTTERY COMMISSIONS AND REPORTS PUBLISHED IN THE PAST YEAR.
Peer-based tuition to get a look
Nov. 11, 2005
News & Observer
By Jane Stancill
© Copyright 2005
In setting tuition in the future, University of North Carolina system leaders may look nationally at the rates other public universities charge.
Given the escalating cost of higher education around the United States, that is likely to mean bigger bills for students in North Carolina.
A UNC system tuition task force agreed Thursday to consider a plan that would routinely allow campus increases as long as tuition and fees for in-state undergraduates remain in the bottom quarter compared to rates at similar public universities around the country. Rates for out-of-state students could climb higher as long as charges remain below the top quarter of schools nationally.
At the same time, the plan would establish a limit on increases each year based on a three-year average of campus increases nationwide.
The task force then put the issue on hold until early next year, so that UNC President-elect Erskine Bowles can offer his opinion.
The group was formed during the summer after the prickly legislative debate on whether to allow UNC-Chapel Hill and N.C. State University control over their own tuition rates without getting approval from the systemwide Board of Governors. Leaders at the two universities say they need to raise tuition to remain competitive and pay professors better salaries.
The draft guidelines would give the two big campuses more flexibility by allowing them to propose their own sets of peer universities for tuition purposes.
Each of the 16 campuses in the UNC system has its own set of approved peer campuses -- public and private -- that have similar characteristics such as size, quality and type of academic programs. The campuses use these lists for comparisons on things such as professors' salaries.
The peer lists, which are under review by a consultant, could become much more important if UNC uses them to set tuition. Student costs in North Carolina would then fluctuate with the market.
UNC Board of Governors Vice Chairman Craig Souza expressed concern that the peer lists for NCSU and UNC-CH could be manipulated to "get the answer we wanted."
But Hannah Gage, co-chairwoman of the task force, disputed that, saying, "We're not looking at anything to game the system."
Under the guidelines, campuses that do not give adequate financial aid to needy students would face tougher scrutiny. But the whole conversation is a touchy issue in a state where the constitution guarantees a free education "as far as practicable."
Although the poorest students are often covered by financial aid, those with moderate income will feel the squeeze, UNC board member Gladys Robinson said. "What do we do to help these students, because those are the ones who may drop out in two years?" she asked.
The guidelines could affect tuition rates starting in 2007.
Also Thursday, the board's budget and finance committee turned its attention to tuition for next fall, recommending limits of $451 in tuition and fee increases at NCSU and UNC-CH, or as much as a 10 percent increase for in-state students. The cap for N.C. Central University would be a $322 increase, or a little more than 10 percent more than the current rate.
The committee's limits on increases range from $271 to $451 across the system. The board will consider campus requests for tuition increases in February.
Staff writer Jane Stancill can be reached at 956-2464 or janes@newsobserver.com.
Nov. 11, 2005
News & Observer
By staff report
© Copyright 2005
Seven-year-old Gabrielle Eshelman hugs her American Girl dolls, Samantha and Kit, during her first American Girl Club meeting at Barnes & Noble in Cary.
Gabrielle got her first doll, Samantha, last Christmas from her grandma after seeing the doll on television.
"I take them everywhere with me. Sometimes out to dinner," says Gabrielle, who explains that she likes Samantha because she helped a little girl, Nellie (another doll in the series), learn how to read because she couldn't go to school.
Gabrielle will be modeling as Nellie in American Girl children's clothes fashioned after the dolls' clothes to raise money for Special Olympics North Carolina at N.C. State University on Nov.19.
Gabrielle is among many girls who enjoy American Girl dolls, which represent various historical periods and come with storybooks about their lives. According to the company's Web site, 11 million dolls have been sold since 1986. Gabrielle says that she thinks of the dolls that she hosts tea parties for and tucks into their own bed each night as both her babies and friends. "I take care of them and I like them a lot."
Nov. 11, 2005
News & Observer
By Dan Kane and J. Andrew Curliss
© Copyright 2005
Trooper Joe Bright lacks jurisdiction to enforce the law outside of North Carolina. But that doesn't stop the N.C. State University football team from picking up his expenses to provide security to Coach Chuck Amato at out-of-state games.
Bright has been serving as security for the team's coach at football games for several years, said Lt. Everett Clendenin, a spokesman for the state Highway Patrol. But Bright provides the security on his own time, so it costs the patrol nothing, Clendenin said.
University spokesman Keith Nichols said the team picks up Bright's travel costs, but he did not know how much they would be. The team often pays a group rate for flights or a block of hotel rooms, for example.
Nichols said those expenses would come out of football revenue, not state appropriations.
Clendenin could not recall a situation where Bright has had to take action on a threat to Amato. If the trooper had to act, his authority would be limited.
" He does not have any arrest authority outside of North Carolina," Clendenin said. "But it's more of he would provide security if someone threatened the coach or came at him in a threatening manner. He can prevent that from happening and detain and hold until someone came to make the arrest."
Clendenin said he gets plenty of calls from the public wanting to make sure the state is not paying for Bright's security gig.
"I get this every football season," he said.
Nov. 11, 2005
News & Observer
By staff report
© Copyright 2005
For responsive government
Common Cause North Carolina is holding two workshops Saturday in Raleigh to discuss how people can make sure state government remains open and responsive.
The 10 a.m. workshop is called "How to fix the dysfunctional legislative process," the 11:30 a.m. workshop will discuss "What's next to ensure that our future elections are fair, accurate and reliable."
The workshops will take place at the N.C. State University Faculty Club. They are free, but it will cost $25 for adults and $20 for students to attend an awards luncheon afterward. To register, call the nonprofit at 836-0027 or e-mail ncccef@bellsouth.net.
By staff writers Dan Kane and J. Andrew Curliss. Kane can be reached at 829-4861 or dkane@newsobserver.com.
Apathy, contentment blamed for low election turnout
Nov. 11, 2005
News & Observer
By Ryan Teague Beckwith
© Copyright 2005
How slow was this week's Election Day?
Let's put it this way: Precinct judge Julie Tomlin had the time to chat with co-workers, eat lunch and read much of a 448-page novel for her book club.
"I got about two-thirds of the book read," she said.
Only two people showed up to vote at the polling place in Swift Creek that Tomlin supervised. It was the lowest turnout among Wake County precincts.
Across the Triangle, voter participation wasn't much better.
In Wake, overall turnout was just 12 percent. In Orange, it was about 15 percent; in Durham, 18 percent. Overall figures were unavailable for Johnston County, but turnout was 8 percent in Clayton, its largest town.
Only Chatham County bucked the trend, with a high of about 25 percent of eligible voters casting ballots.
Opinions differ on why so few show up for municipal elections. Some blame apathy, and others say voters are generally satisfied and feel no need to get involved. A high number of uncontested races can also be a factor.
Regardless of the reason, elections officials and local activists find turnout rates discouraging.
"It's hard to understand why people do not get out and vote," said Orange County elections director Carolyn Thomas. "You see in these local races that just a handful of people could have made a difference."
It would also make the cost of an election a little easier to take.
In Wake, the county spent more than $88,000 printing ballots, paying salaries of precinct officials and advertising the election. That works out to about $4.40 for every voter who showed up Tuesday.
Several ideas have been brought up to improve turnout, though some would require changes in state law:
* Make Election Day a holiday. John Gilbert, chairman of the Wake Board of Elections, said holding elections on a Sunday or canceling classes on Election Day would give people more time to vote and would free up schools for polling sites. "That's what they do in many other countries that have higher turnout," he said.
* Allow same-day registration. Under current law, residents must register to vote 25 days before an election. Some other states allow voters to register on Election Day and cast a provisional ballot. "The states that have the highest voter turnout have that in effect," said Annemarie Evans, president of the League of Women Voters of Wake County.
* Add more local elections. Many local races, including those for school board, sheriff and county commissioners, are held during state and federal elections, and town and city hall races are held in off-year elections. "If you had 13 local races versus having just one, you're going to have more voters," said Andrew Taylor, a political science professor at N.C. State University.
* Have more competitive races. Especially in small towns, local races are far more likely to be uncontested than state and federal races. Competitive races in Pittsboro and Siler City are one reason Chatham County had higher turnout than other counties. "More people are paying attention to what is going on," elections director Dawn Stumpf said.
Staff writer Ryan Teague Beckwith can be reached at 836-4944 or rbeckwit@newsobserver.com.
Nov. 11, 2005
News & Observer
By staff report
© Copyright 2005
SEMINARS, CLASSES & EVENTS
LISTENING TO YOUR BUSINESS -- A WORKSHOP TO HELP YOU TAKE CHARGE OF YOUR BUSINESS: course by Meredith College, 8 a.m. to 12:30 p.m. today, Meredith College, Raleigh. $95. Registration: 760-8450 or www.meredith.edu/professional/.
MARKETING SEMINAR FOR BUSINESS OWNERS AND MARKETERS: 9 to 11:30 a.m. today, Castleton Group Training and Conference Center, 4101 Lake Boone Trail, Room 219, Raleigh. D.L. Eason on "Marketing to the Impacts -- Individuals and Businesses that Drive the Economy, Culture and Community." $39. Nonprofits and college students free. Registration: www.marketingtotheimpacts.com or D.L. Eason, 858-8020.
EMERGING TRENDS IN REAL ESTATE: by the Urban Land Institute, 4 to 6:30 p.m. Monday, Embassy Suites, Harrison Oaks Blvd., Cary. Peter Korpacz of PricewaterhouseCoopers is a featured speaker. Smedes York will moderate discussion of local real esate trends. Registration: 962-3149 or www.uli.org.
WACHOVIA EXECUTIVE LECTURE SERIES: 4:30 p.m. Monday, Nelson Auditorium, N.C. State College of Management, Raleigh. Peter Scott, CEO of Progress Energy, on "Trends in Energy." Free. Contact: www.mgt.ncsu.edu.
BIOTECH FORUM: by the Council for Entrepreneurial Development: 4:30 to 8 p.m. Monday, N.C. Biotechnology Center, RTP. The forum is on "Specialty Pharmaceutical Models." CED and NCBio members $20, or $25 on site, nonmembers $35, or $40 on site. Registration: www.cednc.org.
CISCO SYSTEMS VIRTUAL JOB FAIR: 8 a.m. to 8 p.m. Tuesday. Network engineers, salespeople and other professionals with federal government security clearances can submit their resumes and interact with representatives of several teams within Cisco's Global Government Solutions Group (www.joinforceswithcisco.com).
GREATER RALEIGH CHAMBER OF COMMERCE: "Meet the Purchasers," 8:30 to 10:30 a.m. Tuesday, 3301 Benson Drive, One Renaissance Centre. An opportunity to market your company to purchasing representatives and diversity managers from Cisco Systems, EPA and Wake County Public School System. Members $10, nonmembers $20. Reservations: www.raleighchamber.org or 664-7036.
LEADERSHIP TRIANGLE: One-Day Snapshot Class, 8:30 a.m. to 4 p.m. Tuesday, American Tobacco Campus, Bay 7, 324 Blackwell St., Durham. Experience a taste of the eight-week curriculum all in one day. $100. Registration: www.leadershiptriangle.com.
BUILD YOUR BRAND ... BUILD YOUR BUSINESS: strategic branding lunch by the Castleton Group, 10 a.m. to 2 p.m. Tuesday, Castleton Group Conference Center, 4101 Lake Boone Trail, Suite 219, Raleigh. Featured speaker is Wendy Coulter, president of Hummingbird Creative Group. Reservations: tkincaid@castletongroup.com.
COUNCIL FOR ENTREPRENEURIAL DEVELOPMENT: Entrepreneurs Only Workshop, noon to 1:30 p.m. Tuesday, CED Entrepreneurship Center, RTP. Topic: "Lessons from the Edge -- Save Your Company from Hitting Rock Bottom." CED members $10, nonmembers $15. Registration: www.cednc.org.
FEDERAL GOVERNMENT CONTRACTS FORUM: by the Council for Entrepreneurial Development, 5:30 to 8 p.m. Tuesday, Access Care Conference Facility, 3500 Gateway Center Blvd., Suite 110, Morrisville. CED members $15, nonmembers $25, $30 on site. Registration: www.cednc.org.
2ND ANNUAL CAROLINAS FORUM BUSINESS TRADE FAIR: 6 to 9 p.m. Tuesday and 8 a.m. to 5:30 p.m. Wednesday, North Raleigh Hilton, 3415 Wake Forest Road, Raleigh. Tuesday: welcome reception, networking and silent auction. Wednesday: "Creative College and Matchmaking," awards luncheon and trade fair. Reservations: Lisa Moore, whe@carolinasforum.org or (336) 287-9537.
YOU CAN HAVE A STRESS-FREE HOLIDAY: by Victoria Leo of Marpet/Career Services, 7 p.m. Tuesday, 5:15 p.m. Wednesday, and 9 a.m. Nov. 19, in Cary or through teleconference. $20 each or $50 for all three. Contact: 270-5243 or www.marpet.biz.
PUBLIC RELATIONS WORKSHOP: offered by Pioneer Strategies, 8:30 a.m. Wednesday, Cardinal Club, downtown Raleigh. Designed to teach business owners and entrepreneurs how to use public relations techniques. $150. Registration: www.pioneerstrategies.com or 833-4345.
KNIGHTDALE CHAMBER OF COMMERCE: lunch seminar, noon Wednesday, 207 Main St., Knightdale. Hear Kentia McLemore, senior benefits manager of Waste Industries on "Stress Management." Members $7, nonmembers $15. Reservations by Monday, Contact: 266-4603 or knightdalechamber@knightdalechamber.org.
FIGURING PEOPLE OUT IN FIVE MINUTES OR LESS: seminar offered by Victoria Leo of Marpet Life/Career Services, 1 to 3 p.m. Wednesday, live or teleclass. Contact: 270-5243 or www.marpet.biz.
EASTERN CHAPTER OF THE CHARTERED PROPERTY CASUALTY UNDERWRITER SOCIETY: All Industry Day, 7:30 a.m.Thursday, RBC Center, 1400 Edwards Mill Road, Raleigh. Topics are "Identity Theft" and "FEMA Update: Lessons Learned from Katrina." Contact: Suzanne Schneider, 676-4119 or easternnccpcu@mindspring.com.
BISNEGOCIOS: by the N.C. Hispanic Chamber of Commerce, 7:45 to 9 a.m. Thursday, Chamber's office, 2209 Century Drive, second floor, Raleigh. Attendees will have the opportunity to do a two- or three- minute commercial about what they do. Members free, nonmembers $5. Contact: Stella C. Dreyer, 782-8764.
ANNIVERSARY JOB FAIR: by The Raleigh Employment Guide, Sheraton, Bell South, Just Tires and Harris Teeter, 10 a.m. to 3 p.m. Thursday, The Sheraton Downtown, 421 S. Salisbury St., Raleigh. Free. Contact: Kimberly Scott, 463-9144 ext. 223.
COUNCIL FOR ENTREPRENEURIAL DEVELOPMENT: information prospective members, noon to 1 p.m. Thursday, CED Entrepreneurship Center, 104 T.W. Alexander Drive, RTP. Free, lunch provided. Contact: sharward@cednc.org. or www.cednc.org.
BEYOND ORDINARY BUSINESS NETWORKING: by Triangle Solutions Alliance, 6 to 8 p.m. Thursday, The Castleton Group, 4101 Lake Boone Trail, Raleigh. $20. Reservations: martin@coachingsupport.com or 847-4757.
SECRETS OF SUPER SUCCESSFUL MARKETING: by Durham Technical Community College Small Business Center, 6 to 9 p.m. Thursday, 411 W. Chapel Hill St., downtown Durham. $10. Registration: 686-3448 or www.durhamtech.edu.
COMING UP
ENTERPRISE RISK MANAGEMENT ROUNDTABLE: by N.C. State's College of Management, 7:30 to 9 a.m. Nov. 18, NCSU McKimmon Center, 1101 Gorman St., Raleigh. David Wagner, chief financial officer at Entrust, will examine ERM from a small public-company perspective. Free. Reservations: erm.ncsu.edu or send an e-mail to erm_initiative@ncsu.edu.
ASSOCIATION EXECUTIVES OF N.C. AND PINNACLE SPEAKERS BUREAU: Second Annual Speakers Showcase, 8:30 a.m. to 12:15 p.m. Nov. 18, Hilton North Raleigh Hotel. Contact: www.aencnet.org or Ali Orcutt, 821-1648.
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Veteran finds he has eager audience
Nov. 11, 2005
Charlotte Observer
By LINDSAY POLLARD
© Copyright 2005
In a shed behind a house in east Charlotte, a group of young men meet to talk
with Jim Benton about life, their families and their neighborhood. Sometimes,
they convince him to tell them about his missions during World War II.
On the eve of Veterans Day, the group gathered to hear some of their favorite stories.
Benton, 85, said he volunteered to join the U.S. Army Air Corps on Nov. 5, 1941. He was a junior attending N.C. State University and wanted to avoid being drafted to do "just anything." He was majoring in aeronautical engineering.
The retired architect flew 50 combat missions as a second lieutenant with the 310th Bomb Group. He was stationed in parts of North Africa and the Mediterranean. Benton said his missions were "pretty ordinary," but his neighbors disagree.
"Hey, tell the story about when you were flying the plane and the rain was coming down," said Dave Price, 33.
But it wasn't rain.
Benton was flying into the Amazon when he ran into blinding hail. He couldn't fly lower than 12,000 feet because he wouldn't have seen the ground or the mountains. He was finally able to land at an air base on the south side of the Amazon River, after a six-hour trip. He said he was so exhausted, he had to be lifted out of his plane.
"That's a cool story," Price said.
Taylor Stanfield, 29, was interested in hearing about Benton's brief encounter with Gen. George Patton. Benton said he met Patton at a bar in Algiers.
"We started a conversation, you know," Benton said, "and he was cold as ever."
That comment made everyone laugh.
John Simmons, Benton's next door neighbor, said Benton brings so much more to the neighborhood than his war stories.
"He really is the eyes and ears of the neighborhood," said Simmons, 31. " ... He's the mayor of our street."
Simmons said Benton even led the charge for everyone on the block to rally for speed bumps.
"They said we weren't qualified because we didn't have a thousand cars a day," Benton said.
The group's energy and enthusiasm comes from shared interests in their neighborhood and history. It's almost as if they've adopted each other.
"That's fair to say," Benton said. " ... This is an improving neighborhood, and I liked the people who moved."
The other men added that they enjoy spending time with Benton in his shed, which houses his war medals and his war orders.
Benton has lived in the neighborhood six years; the five younger men have lived on Pinehurst Place two to three years. They like having each other, and Benton, to lean on.
"Everybody needs a room like this," Price said. "A place where the guys can hang out."
UNC system plans cap on tuition hikes
Nov. 11, 2005
Charlotte Observer
By APRIL BETHEA
© Copyright 2005
The UNC system Board of Governors is expected to approve a plan today to cap increases in tuition and most fees at state public universities for the 2006-07 school year.
Members say a cap of about 10 percent for in-state undergraduates would help keep college affordable in a slow economy.
But the proposed cap wouldn't limit the increase in students' bills to a maximum of 10 percent. Universities could impose additional fees to pay for facilities previously approved by the board.
This would be the first time UNC schools have had system-wide guidelines for tuition and fee increases, said Hannah Gage, chair of the board's budget and finance committee. In the past five years, increases at UNC schools ranged from 2.5 percent to 16.5 percent, according to the board.
"These raises every year are taking a bite out of people like us," said Garrett Fulton, who lives in Cabarrus County outside Gold Hill. An aircraft electrician for US Airways, Fulton has seen his pay cut 25 percent in the past two years, when the airline was in two bankruptcies.
Fulton, 56, said he paid for older son, Roice, to attend UNC Chapel Hill for four years. But he couldn't afford more than two years for younger son Jesse.
Jesse attended Rowan-Cabarrus Community College for his first two years, and will start at N.C. State as an aerospace engineering major in January. Jesse will have to take out loans to fund those last two years.
"I don't feel a bit good about it," Garrett Fulton said.
Schools could ask to raise tuition and fees beyond the 10 percent cap, but would then face even closer scrutiny, Gage said.
"(The cap) can allow the campuses to raise some funds that they say they need," said Zack Wynne, president of the UNC system Association of Student Governments. "But (it) makes sure those requests aren't exorbitantly huge."
The ASG has fought tuition increases in the past, but Wynne says the proposed cap is a smart plan. Wynne, a graduate student at Appalachian State University, hopes campuses won't ask for 10 percent just because it's the maximum allowed.
At least three schools -- Appalachian State, Fayetteville State and Western Carolina -- had said they may ask for more than 10 percent for next year, though none has submitted a tuition plan yet.
N.C. State and UNC Greensboro will likely propose increases below the possible cap, officials said.
UNC Charlotte Chancellor Phil Dubois said his school plans a tuition hike of less than 10 percent, but additional debt service fees are likely.
At least five of the 16 schools have said they may propose extra fees for next year. UNC Charlotte students could pay an extra $50 to $60 to help pay off the Student Union now under construction.
Tuition up across nation
The Board of Governors will vote on the cap proposal today, Gage said. The budget and finance committee unanimously approved it Thursday.The board will begin reviewing schools' tuition and fee plans in February.
The roughly 10 percent cap amount represents the national average for public university tuition increases during the past three years.
Nationally, tuition at public four-year institutions rose faster in the early 2000s than in the preceding two decades.
In the past 10 years, tuition and fees rose as much as 70 percent at N.C. State and UNC Chapel Hill, according to a College Board report.
Out-of-state tuition at N.C. schools would not be affected by the cap.
Across the state line, there were no caps on tuition and fees this year, but S.C. officials may consider them for next year because many universities have had double-digit increases, said Julie Carullo, with the S.C. Commission on Higher Education.
For the current school year, USC Columbia's in-state tuition increased 14 percent, and Clemson's 12.4 percent, according to the commission. In-state tuition at nine other major universities in South Carolina rose an average of 9.8 percent. -- Staff Writers Amy Baldwin and Deborah Hirsch contributed.
April Bethea: (704) 358-6013, abethea@charlotteobserver.com.
--------------------------------------------------------
The Board of Governors proposal recommends campuses not seek tuition and fee increases above these figures, which are based on the average increases by comparable schools across the nation:
N.C. State, UNC Chapel Hill, $451
East Carolina, N.C. A&T State, UNC Charlotte, UNC Greensboro, $346
Appalachian State, Fayetteville State, N.C. Central, UNC Pembroke, UNC Wilmington, Western Carolina $322
Elizabeth City State, Winston-Salem State, $271
UNC Asheville, $356
N.C. School of the Arts, $437
UNC board may approve tuition guidelines
Nov. 11, 2005
Herald-Sun
By ERIC FERRERI
© Copyright 2005
CHAPEL HILL -- The UNC system's Board of Governors appears ready to approve tuition and fee guidelines today that would allow rate increases of up to 10 percent in 2006-07 for students across the university system.
The board likely will approve a plan recommended Thursday by its budget and finance committee, which is aiming to bring more predictability to college pricing.
Under the proposed guidelines, campuses would be allowed to request tuition and fee hikes comparable to a three-year average of increases at comparable peer institutions in other states.
For UNC Chapel Hill, that would amount to an increase of $451. At N.C. Central University, tuition and fees could rise by $322 at most under the plan.
If approved today, the guidelines are expected to assist campuses as they put together requests for campus-specific tuition and fee hikes, which the board generally votes on in February.
The new guideline is only intended to govern tuition and fee increases for one school year. It comes as university officials continue to grapple with the future of tuition and fees and their impact on the student wallet.
A tuition task force comprising primarily members of the system board still is working out longer-range tuition and fee plans -- including the somewhat frustrating task of determining which universities ought to be included in each UNC system campus's peer group.
The board has been careful to label today's rate hike proposal "guidelines," and nothing stronger, perhaps with good reason.
This month, before the guidelines have even been ratified, several campuses have made clear they're not sure they can or would like to adhere to them.
For example, Appalachian State University officials already have recommended a $400 tuition hike, which exceeds the guidelines. At Fayetteville State University, Chancellor T.J. Bryan has put forth a $385 tuition-and-fee increase request.
Neither UNC Chapel Hill nor NCCU has expressed concerns about staying with the guidelines. UNC Chancellor James Moeser has said he expects his campus' request to fall within the $481 ceiling, with revenue raised to support faculty salary increases and higher stipends for graduate students.
As part of its look into the future of tuition and fee increases, the system's tuition task force is recommending that annual rate hikes for in-state undergraduates remain within the bottom quarter of the average increase for each campus' peer group.
For out-of-state students, rate hikes should remain below the top quarter of the same peer listing.
While there was scant discussion on the actual guidelines Thursday, board members spent a good deal of time discussing the issue of peer groups. Some fretted about changes individual campuses may try to make to their peer listings.
While each campus already has established peer groups, at least a handful are negotiating with UNC system officials to alter or expand those lists.
Craig Souza, a board member from Raleigh, warned against campuses simply adding higher-priced colleges to their lists in order to look low in cost by comparison.
"I think what we're saying here is that our peer group will be the same for everything except for tuition -- when we need to change it," Souza said. "We're basically going to shake the thing up again until we get the number we like."
But Hannah Gage, who chairs the budget and finance committee, emphasized that changes to peer groups would need her board's approval, and were intended only to expand some institution's pool of peers, not to allow wholesale changes.
"It's not about finding anything to game the system," she said.
For UNC Chapel Hill, the peer group issue may prove a bit tricky. Unlike many UNC campuses, Carolina counts several private institutions among its academic peers.
In fact, UNC Chapel Hill's current list of 15 peer institutions, which was approved by the UNC system board in 1999, includes five private universities -- Duke, Emory, Johns Hopkins, the University of Chicago and Vanderbilt.
In the future, the tuition rates at those private institutions will hold no sway, UNC system board members said this week.
"There can be no private schools in this," Gage said. "That's not even negotiable."
The Chapel Hill campus probably will be allowed to keep some private institutions among its peers, but simply won't be able to compare tuition from those universities while determining its own tuition and fee hikes in the future, said Alan Mabe, the UNC system's vice president for academic planning.
But the campus likely will use the full peer list for other purposes, such as faculty recruitment and retention, Mabe said.
"If Chapel Hill competes with Duke for faculty members, the salary [information] might be more relevant than tuition is," he said.