UNC students will continue paying far less for their educations than they would at most of the university's competitors under a tuition plan approved last week.
That, some say, is a problem.
Campus leaders weigh the price of quality against the state's historic mandate to keep college costs low. This year, the task was complicated by the recession and a legislative mandate that will take tuition revenue away from public universities.
Under the UNC plan approved by trustees Thursday, in-state undergraduate students would pay nearly $300 more next year for a total of $5,921.42 in tuition and fees. Out-of-state undergrads would pay an increase of about $1,223 for a total of $24,736.42. Those rates do not include room, board, books and other expenses.
Some campus leaders say the increase, which is moderate when compared with UNC's peers in other states, won't produce enough revenue to compete with those institutions for the best faculty.
"We remain a great bargain," said Bruce Carney, UNC's interim provost. "But it is a challenge to accomplish what we need to do."
Faculty recruitment and retention has long been a high priority at UNC, and a portion of tuition-increase revenue is always used for those purposes. But there is far less money available this year.
Meanwhile, UNC's competitors have raised tuition at far higher rates and are reaping the financial benefits.
UNC students pay $5,625 in tuition and fees this year. By comparison, the University of California -- Berkeley, often considered the nation's top public institution, charges $8,938. Virginia charges $9,872 this year.
Many of these institutions have spent the past year raiding the UNC faculty, said Carney, who was previously the interim Dean of the College of Arts and Sciences. While in that role, he fended off 12 attempts to hire away faculty by giving raises or other resources to those professors; he lost six others to better-paying jobs elsewhere.
Until UNC is able to add considerably to its faculty salary pool, it will continue to lose talent, said John Ellison, a trustee from Greensboro. Eventually, its rank and reputation will suffer, he said.
"This university is not going to maintain our academic standing in the world if we continue down this path," Ellison said.
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