The UNC Board of Governors’ Committee on Budget and Finance voted on Wednesday to freeze tuition and fees for the 2020-2021 academic year in response to the COVID-19 pandemic and the economic downturn that’s affecting many North Carolina families. The full board will approve the decision at its May meeting. Prior to the pandemic, the … Continue reading “Did You Know? UNC Schools Will (Likely) Not Raise Tuition This Year”
It is a common saying that one should “never let a crisis go to waste.” Last week, the University of North Carolina Board of Governors exemplified this principle when they met last-minute to discuss changing admissions standards. For months, members of the UNC Board of Governors have been contemplating a drastic change for admissions—one that … Continue reading “Never Let a Crisis Go to Waste: UNC BOG Hastily Enacts New Admissions Policy”
The coronavirus pandemic has injected uncertainty into nearly every aspect of society—and higher education is no exception. As North Carolina’s leaders grapple with the challenges posed by curbing the virus’ spread, dramatic policy decisions are being made on a daily, and sometimes hourly, basis. The following is a summary of what higher education leaders in … Continue reading “How North Carolina Colleges Are Responding to COVID-19”
North Carolina public universities are more than just institutions of higher learning. They are each small cities of young adults with Olympic-level athletic franchises, massive dining and fitness clubs, and special interest hobby communities supported by extensive human and physical infrastructure. To fund the many perks and benefits of university life, schools charge extra fees … Continue reading “The Ever-growing Costs of Mandatory Student Fees”
It’s been a couple of months since Randy Ramsey became the chairman of the University of North Carolina System Board of Governors. Since his appointment in October, Ramsey’s tenure has been enveloped in the ongoing saga surrounding the Silent Sam monument. But even though the monument consumes headlines, many other important issues go before the … Continue reading “A New Chapter in UNC Board Governance”
Social justice education—which teaches young people to view the world through the lens of oppression and demands unquestioning conformity—pervades nearly every nook and cranny of higher education: the administration, general education requirements, extracurriculars, university mission statements, and academic departments. On December 6, the National Association of Scholars (NAS) co-sponsored an event with the Martin Center … Continue reading “Loosening Social Justice’s Iron Grip on Academia”
As priorities shift in the minds of higher education leaders and students, it’s important to take stock of recent changes on the local and national levels. At the Martin Center, we have our eyes on some reforms at the top of our list for 2020: Jenna A. Robinson, President More Colleges Experimenting with Income Share … Continue reading “Our Hopes for Higher Ed Reform in 2020”
An important new front in the culture war has opened up at the University of North Carolina at Chapel Hill, one with major implications about intellectual diversity and how universities in North Carolina are to be governed. The controversy concerns plans for a new “Program on Civic Virtue and Civil Discourse,” scheduled to begin in … Continue reading “UNC Board Steps Up to Defend Civil Discourse on Campus”
Last year, the Martin Center released its first report on the state of free speech and institutional neutrality in the UNC system. The report serves two main purposes. The first is to measure how much of an effect the free speech law has had on the state’s public colleges and universities. The law, also known … Continue reading “Free Speech: A Year in Review for UNC Campuses”
Flagship universities such as the University of North Carolina at Chapel Hill and other public universities were created by their states primarily to support the higher educational needs of in-state students. Increasingly, however, in-state colleges are enrolling more out-of state students because they bring in more revenue. The Washington Post highlighted this trend and showed … Continue reading “Did You Know? UNC System Bucks Trend Favoring Out-of-State Students”