UNC System discusses tuition, fees and a performance-based funding model for campuses

The UNC System Board of Governors discussed student tuition and fees, admissions requirements and a new way to allocate money to campuses at its meetings this week.

Campuses are not allowed to increase tuition for students from North Carolina, per UNC System guidelines. But some schools have requested to raise the price for out-of-state students.

This will be the sixth year that in-state tuition is frozen across the UNC System and students’ tuition won’t change during their academic career. More than half of UNC System institutions offer the lowest cost compared to their peers, and if every campus increased tuition by $2,000 they’d all still be among the cheapest.

Campus tuition and fees

N.C. State University proposed an increase of about $1,000 for out-of-state undergraduate students to $28,276 per year, a 3.5% increase. NCSU wants to raise tuition for graduate students by about $1,200 to $28,300, a 4.5% increase.

UNC-CH proposed a $700 out-of-state increase to $35,580 per year, making it the most expensive school in the system for out-of-state undergraduate students.

N.C. Central wants to raise the cost for out-of-state undergraduates by about $300 to $16,764 and by $350 to about $18,000 for graduate students.

UNC Charlotte, UNC Wilmington and Appalachian State University also are looking at increased tuition for out-of-state undergraduate students. And UNCC, UNCW and UNC Pembroke proposed tuition increases for graduate students.

Fayetteville State University’s tuition is dropping by about $10,000 for out-of-state undergraduate students to $5,000 per year as FSU joins the NC Promise Program next fall. The program sets tuition at $1,000 per year for North Carolina students.

Overall, the system expects about $12 million in revenue from these tuition increases.

A handful of schools, including Fayetteville State and N.C. Central, are increasing fees, mostly for athletics. A few schools are also filling out the systemwide campus security fee hike set by the board last year.

The biggest fee increase is at Western Carolina athletics at $86, followed by a $65 increase at FSU. Student fees will decrease at N.C. State and UNC-CH overall.

Board members were adamant about keeping student fees low, and some opposed any new fee increases. They will continue to discuss campus tuition and fees, and expect to vote on them at their February meeting.

Issues with athletics funding

Athletics fees were the most controversial issue on the table, as board members questioned using fees to solve the problem of underfunded athletics programs.

The small- and mid-sized schools face the biggest challenge in funding their athletics programs because they don’t bring in the revenue from TV contracts or top-tier conferences like UNC-CH and NCSU do. So they have much higher athletics fees, between $700 and $850 compared to about $250.

Often, current students are paying for the construction or renovation of athletics facilities that they won’t even get to use.

Another hurdle is a limitation on using state funds for athletics.

Though board members see athletics as a critical part of the college experience, they say they don’t want to put that funding on the backs of students.

“We’re trying to think through creative and innovative approaches that would accomplish twin goals of funding athletics programs, but not doing so in a way that places an undue burden on the students,” UNC System President Peter Hans said in a press briefing after the meeting.

Campus admissions requirements

Before prospective students think about paying tuition and fees, they have to get into a college.

The UNC System is in the middle of assessing its minimum admission requirements across campuses to give schools more flexibility in what students they admit.

On Wednesday, the board’s committee on educational planning, policies and programs voted to extend a pilot program where schools can accept applicants with a minimum 2.5 weighted high school GPA or a combined SAT score of 1010 or an ACT score of 19.

Admissions offices can make decisions based on GPA alone, but this does not make schools test-optional. Students are still required to submit a standardized test score with their application, unless they qualify for an exemption.

So far, the pilot program has been successful at the three HBCUs where it started. Research and data shows that GPA is a better predictor of student success and graduation rates than standardized test scores.

The program expanded across the system earlier than expected in Fall 2020 as SAT and ACT testing were canceled or postponed by the coronavirus pandemic.

Because the pilot program coincided with COVID-19, the committee is looking for more accurate data to decide whether to revise the policy permanently. This extension would make admissions more flexible for schools through Fall 2025.

“We hope to get clearer data by extending the pilot, hopefully beyond the impacts of conflicting circumstances of COVID,” board member Anna Spangler Nelson said in an interview.

The proposed extension will go to the full board for a vote in February.

Performance-based funding model

The budget and finance committee proposed a new concept for a performance-weighted funding model for universities.

Jennifer Haygood, senior vice president for finance and administration/chief financial officer for the UNC System, presented the budget proposal at the committee’s meeting Tuesday.

The new model would calculate how much money the state allocates based on how schools are meeting state, system and campus policy goals and metrics versus enrollment growth.

With this revised model, state money would be allocated per credit hour and only go toward in-state students. Tuition would cover the costs of out-of-state students. At its core, the model recognizes that credit hours are more valuable to the state if student outcomes are improving.

“I know the word funding-model will probably make some eyes glaze over,” Board Chair Randy Ramsey said at the meeting. “But strip away the jargon and you’ll find the simple truth: our funding model is outdated.”

He explained how the system’s strategic plan tells universities that student success is a priority, but the current funding model incentivizes enrollment growth over graduation rates.

The current model is the same for research and baccalaureate institutions and doesn’t account for schools’ distinct roles and identities. It uses tuition as a factor, which creates inconsistent state subsidy rates. The way the model works could also pressure schools to focus on graduate over undergraduate education programs.

While the current model does not fund summer courses, the new model would support summer courses for resident students.

The proposed model would allow campuses to generate revenue by improving performance, eliminating tuition as a factor, incentivizing campuses to keep costs low and providing more equitable funding across campuses for similar instruction.

The budget and finance committee will continue to discuss the proposed funding model in February.

Online education programs for working adults

The board also discussed a new online education program that received nearly $100 million in the recent state budget.

Project Kitty Hawk, Inc. is aimed at adult learners and reaching the more than 1.5 million adults in North Carolina who have some college experience but no degree, especially as the pool for 18- to 24-year-old students is diminishing.

The board voted to select the program’s board members and approved it to become an associated entity of the university system.

Laboratory schools

Appalachian State University is opening a new elementary school in partnership with Elkin City Schools in Fall 2022. This will be App State’s second laboratory school.

The board approved the new school and received progress updates on potential schools run by UNC-CH and N.C. A&T State University.

In 2016, the state legislature charged the UNC System to create lab schools aimed at improving student performance in low-performing schools and improving teacher and principal training.

There are currently six schools operated by Colleges of Education at East Carolina University, App State, UNCC, UNC Greensboro, UNCW and Western Carolina. With the second App State school and the new UNC-CH and NC A&T schools, if approved, that would bring the total to nine laboratory schools.

UNC Press board appointees

The board appointed two new members to the University of North Carolina Press Board of Governors after a controversial move not to reappoint UNC law professor Eric Muller, which some said was politically motivated.

The board selected Osamudia James, a UNC-CH law professor, and Angela Miles, professor and department chair at NC Central’s business school.

The board’s next meeting is scheduled for Feb. 23-24 in Chapel Hill.