UNCSA plans annual $750 tuition rise

Tuition for most students at UNC School of the Arts will go up $750 per year under a plan approved by the school's trustees Thursday. And by the fall of 2016, most students would be paying $3,000 more than they are now.

The plan, which needs the approval of the UNC Board of Governors, is one of several measures designed to close a deficit in excess of $1 million per year brought on by severe cuts in state allocations.

The tuition increases would apply to all students except North Carolina residents in UNCSA's high school, who attend free of charge.

"We're trying to ensure the sustainability of the school over the long haul," said David English, UNCSA's associate provost.

Other measures to close the school's deficit include raising fees; increasing enrollment, particularly in graduate programs; and boosting donations. Lobbying the General Assembly for more money is also planned.

Nick Correa, a college junior studying sound design in UNCSA's School of Design & Production, is UNCSA's student-body president. He said he is "not excited" about the planned tuition increases but believes they're necessary for the improvement of UNCSA.

"We're a wonderful university," he said. "It's becoming difficult to maintain the quality of UNCSA's education after the recent budget cuts."

English said that the UNC system, of which UNCSA is a part, had directed the universities to recommend tuition increases, within certain guidelines.

"We have to have latitude with our tuition," said John Mauceri, UNCSA's chancellor. "We are most akin to a professional school at one of the larger UNC universities. Yet we are still in the bottom of the lowest quartile of tuition that our peer institutions charge.

"That's why our trustees today voted to recommend an increase, on the recommendation of their finance committee, and with the support of the school's tuition and fees committee — a committee that included students and faculty."

David Robertson, a college junior, is studying cinematography in UNCSA's School of Filmmaking. He said that the school will remain a bargain even as tuition increases.

A $3,000 increase in tuition "is really not a big deal — especially if it's going to maintain and/or improve what we have," he said. "We're on the lower end, for sure."

UNC School of the Arts has been grappling with state cuts of $2.97 million, or 10.8 percent of its budget for the 2011-2012 school year. The cuts have resulted in the elimination of seven filled staff positions, 61/2 vacant staff positions, and six vacant faculty positions, school officials say. An additional two faculty positions were eliminated through retirement.

All told, UNCSA has seen its state allocations drop by $10 million since 2000.

The situation has led, for example, to the school paying for admissions materials using the lapsed salary from the chief advancement officer position, which was vacated as of July 1. The chief advancement officer oversees the school's fundraising efforts.

"Since both of those items are recurring budget lines that must be paid, and we only have enough money to do one or the other, we say that we have a structural deficit," English said. "That's not a sustainable solution, because next year, we'll still need admissions and recruitment materials, but we'll also need our chief advancement officer."

As for other measures that would close the deficit, increasing donations tops the list, particularly those aimed at the annual fund. School officials say that UNCSA's annual fund drives have brought in about $500,000 in unrestricted cash a year since 2007. The goal would be doubling that amount over the next several years.

The school is also looking at ways to increase enrollment. A consultant will help the school determine how to do so, school officials say. The more students the school enrolls, the more tuition money it takes in, and the more state money it is allocated. Specific numbers and finances have not yet been determined.

"We are looking at strategically increasing enrollment in some of the arts schools, primarily in graduate programs that do not require a significant increase in faculty or buildings or services," Mauceri said.