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SOURCE: The Daily Tar Heel
02.02.07
Allred, ASG team up on tuition
By: Eric Johnson, Staff Writer
Student Body President James Allred is planning a final effort for next week to limit a proposed $1,250 tuition hike for nonresident undergraduate students.
The proposal passed at the University's Board of Trustees meeting last week despite student protests and an impassioned plea from Allred, but it still needs approval from the UNC-system's Board of Governors during its Thursday and Friday sessions.
Allred is working with Derek Pantiel, president of the UNC-system Association of Student Governments, to mount a final appeal on behalf of out-of-state students.
"We are basically partnering with and supporting the efforts of the ASG," Allred said.
As the student representative on the BOG, Pantiel will have an opportunity to speak during the board's tuition discussions, or possibly open the floor to Allred.
Either way, Pantiel said he'll be working closely with Allred leading up to the board meeting to make the case for a smaller increase.
"With the out-of-state issue, I'm not impressed," Pantiel said, referring to the way UNC-CH trustees set aside a $500 proposal in favor of the steeper increase.
"I'm not happy with that decision," he said.
Little debate is expected about in-state increases.
All 16 system campuses plan to abide by a 6.5-percent ceiling established in October, with the promise of swift approval for resident increases.
"If they stay within the guidelines, they're likely to get a favorable response," said Steve Bowden, chairman of the BOG budget and finance committee.
The system's tuition policy includes no yearly limit for nonresident increases, and the board largely has supported a market-based approach.
That has allowed campuses to raise out-of-state tuition in tandem with spiraling college costs nationwide.
But there has been concern in past years about the rate of increase for nonresident students, and Allred's dissent from the UNC-CH proposal could prompt some discussion among board members.
"It's interesting that the student body president apparently doesn't share the position of the board of trustees," board member Ray Farris said.
"I think it'll be good for him to make his case."
Last year, Farris raised an objection to UNC-CH's request for a $1,100 increase for nonresidents and was joined by two other board members in voting against the proposal.
"I have the same concerns I expressed last time," Farris said of the trustees' latest, unanticipated request.
"Is it necessary to increase it to this extent and not in a more moderate way?"
While it's unlikely the BOG will vote down the $1,250 proposal, Farris said, the student voice can affect the debate.
"We listen consistently," he said.
"I think the students have carried the day on occasion."
Though UNC-CH remains a relative bargain for nonresidents when compared with similar schools, several board members have begun to question the fairness of levying sizable increases on students already enrolled.
"I think there has to be sensitivity to the students that are coming from all around the country and don't expect huge increases," said Hannah Gage, a board member and former chairwoman of the budget and finance committee.
"I think it has to be done in a way that is palatable for the families that are paying the tuition," she said.
If nothing else, Pantiel said he hopes a strong student objection to UNC-CH's proposal will prompt the BOG to consider more detailed guidelines for nonresident increases.
"We have to create a more concrete policy, with predictability for out-of-state tuition," he said.
"I do want to make sure that's addressed at this board meeting."
