Does North Carolina sufficiently support its public universities?

A new report from the Center for American Progress alleges that the “Great Recession” that began in 2008 devastated public university investments nationwide. Specifically, it says that over a five-year period, tuition has skyrocketed, states have withdrawn public investment, and low-income families have been pushed out of higher education.




Mission and Money

Economist Burton Weisbrod argues that colleges need a lot of revenue to pursue their “social mission.” But do they?


The High Cost of Low Tuition

The Florida legislature voted this spring to allow three universities to raise tuition well above the average for Florida’s state universities – up to 40 percent over four years for the University of Florida and Florida State, up to 30 per cent in the case of the University of South Florida. Although Governor Charles Crist had threatened a veto, he changed his mind, and tuition is going up in the fall of 2008.

When it comes to setting tuition, who is right – the legislators, following the lead of university administrators, who want significant increases in tuition — or the governor, who signed the bill reluctantly and vetoed a system-wide 5 per cent increase in tuition this fall? (Editor’s note: The legislature eventually overrode the governor’s veto.)


Caveat emptor, suckers

House Bill 1183 would give the children of illegal immigrants the privilege of attending UNC schools and community colleges in N.C. for in-state tuition. Looks like yet another talking point used to sell us on the $3.1 billion bond referendum for higher education in 2000 could turn out to be a big fat whopper.


Kerry only tells half the story about college costs

As part of his litany of George Bush woes, John Kerry cites rising college costs. It’s up dramatically since Bush took office, he says, pricing hundreds of thousands of students out. Kerry cites only the “sticker price” of tuition and fees, however. He’s ignoring that the net price — that’s the sticker price discounted by grant aids and tax benefits — is actually lower now than it was ten years ago.


Students: Tuition increases mean … we pay more!

UNC schools are discussing raising tuition again, some schools by up to $300. For many UNC students, it is their first taste of hardship, and for many parents of UNC students, it could mean their last gasp at shielding their fledglings from hardship. “I may have to give up flying home,” says Weinlaud. “And if I drive to Florida for Spring Break, that’ll cut out two whole days of partying. It’s not fair!”


Economic woes greater for universities, students outside N.C.

North Carolina’s colleges and universities are hardly the only ones in the nation affected by an economic downturn in their home state. A report released this summer shows how many public universities and colleges across the country received cuts, some substantial, in their budgets.


Study Finds Tuition Low, Higher-Education Appropriations High in N.C.

According to the most recent data, taxpayers in North Carolina pay the fourth-highest per-pupil amount in the nation to subsidize public-college students in their state. Also, N.C. students attending the state’s community colleges or public universities pay the second-lowest amounts in tuition and fees in the nation in either category of institution.