The UNC Policy Manual
1000.1.1
Adopted 02/09/73
Amended 06/18/73
Amended 07/12/74
Amended 06/11/93
Amended 02/14/03
Amended 07/01/07
The
General Assembly shall provide that the benefits of The University of North
Carolina and other public institutions of higher education, as far as
practicable, be extended to the people of the State free of expense. –North Carolina
Constitution, Article IX, Section 9
I. Establishing Tuition
This
citation from the North Carolina Constitution sets the parameters for
establishing resident tuition rates at the constituent institutions of The
University of North Carolina. The
constitutional provisions for setting tuition are codified in General Statute
116-11(7), which states, in part, "The
Board (of Governors) shall set tuition and required fees at the institutions,
not inconsistent with actions of the General Assembly.” This statute governed the setting of tuition
rates for both resident and nonresident students from 1971 through 1999 during
which time the Board of Governors recommended no tuition increases except as
required by statute. This policy outlines the framework to be followed by the
Board in establishing tuition levels for constituent institutions,[1]
commencing with academic year 2003-2004.
Tuition is charged to students enrolled in academic programs during
regular terms, summer sessions or through off-campus distance instruction and
is used to partially defray the costs of general academic and administrative
operations of campuses, including academic programs and faculty and
administrative salaries and benefits.
1. Board-initiated Tuition Rates
A. Undergraduate
Tuition – General Policy
The
appropriate tuition policy at the undergraduate level encourages students to
pursue academic and intellectual interests without regard to program costs.
Accordingly, no difference in tuition between undergraduate programs will occur
within an institution, and there will be only minimal differences in
undergraduate tuition among campuses in similar institutional categories as
defined by the Board to reflect both varying missions and contrasting costs of
education. Deviation in undergraduate
tuition among campuses in different institutional categories will be based upon
institutional offerings and will be reasonable.
B. Graduate
and Professional Tuition – General Policy
The
Board will attempt to extend the principle that tuition be set as low as
practicable to graduate and professional students as well as those at the
undergraduate level. The financial
structure and educational purposes of graduate and professional education,
however, are sufficiently different from undergraduate education that distinct
tuition policies at the graduate and professional level will be permitted. The application of what is “practicable”
varies by level of instruction for a number of
reasons, and those differences will be reflected in the tuition policies
associated with each.
The
Board will apply Article IX, Section 9 of the North Carolina Constitution to
graduate and professional level students but with the realization that the
costs, sources of funds and purposes of graduate and professional education are
materially different from undergraduate education. Tuition for graduate and professional
students will be set with an understanding that tuition revenues may be needed
to maintain and increase the excellence of the University’s graduate and
professional programs. In setting
tuition rates, the Board will consider the need to provide access to these
programs for students irrespective of their financial capacity as well as the
desire to attract and retain the best students to serve North Carolina’s needs
in each field.
C. Tuition
for Nonresident Students - General Policy
Under
General Statute 116-144, the Board of Governors is required to set tuition
rates for nonresident students at levels “…higher
than the rates charged residents of North Carolina and comparable to the rates
charged nonresident students by comparable public institutions nationwide. . . .” In complying with the statute,
the Board will set tuition for nonresident students after considering the
results of a review of rates set by comparable public institutions
nationwide. The Board will further
consider the need for tuition remissions for nonresident graduate students when
setting tuition rates and tuition remission policies.
D. Process
for Setting Board-initiated Tuition Rates
i. Proposed increases in general
tuition rates are to be recommended by the President for consideration by the
Board. The President will seek counsel
from University Chancellors and a committee of campus representatives appointed
by each chancellor, before making the recommendations for tuition changes. The committee of campus representatives
appointed by each chancellor will include students.
ii. The
President, the chancellors and the committee of campus representatives will
consider a number of factors in deciding whether to
recommend changes to general tuition rates in any given year. After the President recommends any action to
the Board of Governors, the Board will also consider those factors, which
include:
a. Availability of State general fund
revenue to maintain quality and access within the campuses of the University of
North Carolina;
b. Evidence
of institutional efforts to manage costs through increases in productivity,
budget flexibility, and/or efficiency improvements;
c. Analysis
of the impact of tuition and fee charges on student access to the campuses of
the University of North Carolina as measured by the college-going rate and
other metrics so as not to limit access to the University;
d. Changes
in various price and income indices (e.g., North Carolina per capita personal
income, Consumer Price Index, Higher Education Price Index);
e. The
current level of student charges (tuition, fees, room and board) at UNC
institutions and whether campuses have proposed campus or program tuition
differentials for the budget period that would be in addition to general
increases in tuition;
f. Analysis
of student indebtedness levels within the University, viewed in the context of
student attrition rates;
g. Availability of financial aid and
tuition remission and amount of unmet need.
Financial aid should be reviewed in the context of the different
missions of the institutions, the diverse capacities of the institutions to
provide financial assistance and the contrasting needs of students attending
the institutions.
iii. In
academic years ending in odd numbers (e.g., June 30, 2003, the long session of
the General Assembly), the Board will act by October of the preceding year or
when it adopts its biennial budget request to establish the University's
general tuition rates for the next academic year. This timing allows Board action on tuition to
be incorporated into the University’s budget request as part of its overall
financing plan. In academic years ending
in even numbers when the Board prepares a supplemental budget request, the
Board will set Board-initiated tuition rates in conjunction with its
establishment of campus-initiated tuition rates.
2. Campus-initiated Tuition Rates
A. Campuses may request increases in
tuition to provide revenue for specific purposes and programs. Revenue generated from a campus-initiated
change in tuition rates will be accounted for in the budget of the originating
campus and transferred within the institution by the chancellor in accordance
with the priorities identified in the approved campus proposal.
B. Undergraduate Tuition
The Board recognizes that
campuses may experience circumstances that suggest that an across-the-board
change in undergraduate tuition may be needed at one or more institutions. In the event that
circumstances lead a campus or campuses to the conclusion that a change in
undergraduate tuition rates is needed, campuses are permitted to bring
proposals for undergraduate tuition changes before the Board for its
consideration. Campuses wishing to
submit requests for undergraduate tuition changes will conduct a process that
includes consultation with participation by students. A campus will consider the following factors
when creating an undergraduate tuition proposal.
i. Availability
of State general fund revenue to maintain quality and access within the campuses
of the University of North Carolina;
ii. Evidence of institutional efforts
to manage costs through increases in productivity, budget flexibility, and/or
efficiency improvements;
iii. Analysis of the impact of tuition
and fee charges on student access to the campuses of the University of North
Carolina as measured by the college-going rate and other metrics so as not to
limit access to the University;
iv. Changes
in various price and income indices (e.g., North Carolina per capita personal
income, Consumer Price Index, Higher Education Price Index);
v. The current level of student charges
(tuition, fees, room and board) at UNC institutions and whether campuses have
proposed campus or program tuition differentials for the budget period that
would be in addition to general increases in tuition;
vi. Analysis of student indebtedness
levels within the University, viewed in the context of student attrition rates;
vii. Availability of financial aid and
tuition remission and amount of unmet need.
Financial aid should be reviewed in the context of the different
missions of the institutions, the diverse capacities of the institutions to
provide financial assistance and the contrasting needs of students attending
the institutions.
viii. A plan for the intended use of
additional tuition receipts (e.g., needed improvements to the educational
program, funding for competitive salary increases, financial aid, etc.)
3. Graduate and Professional Tuition
The Board of Governors will
permit individual campuses to initiate requests for Board approval of different
base or program tuition rates at the graduate and professional level. If a campus explores the possibility of
developing such a request, it will present evidence to ensure that students in
the affected graduate and/or professional programs have been consulted. Tuition
for graduate and professional students will be set with an emphasis on
maintaining and increasing the excellence of the campus’ graduate and
professional programs as well as ensuring access. To the extent possible, there should be full
tuition remission for graduate assistants to improve a campus’ competitiveness
in recruiting and retaining highly qualified nonresident graduate students.
In reviewing potential criteria
to recommend as a basis for deciding when specific graduate or professional
tuition differentials may be appropriate at a particular institution, a
flexible policy framework that allows judgments to be reached based on a number of factors is preferable either to cost-based formulas
or to discipline or program typologies that treat all academic or professional
programs the same. In particular, a
flexible approach based on the unique factors associated with specific programs
is desirable because of the potential mix of graduate and professional programs
that one may find within any given school or college;
e.g., a professional school may offer a Ph.D. program in addition to one or
more professional degree programs.
Therefore, the campuses will consider the following factors in developing
graduate and professional school tuition proposals.
A. The
anticipated impact of a proposed change on program quality;
B. The
projected impact of a proposed change in tuition on access for North Carolina residents;
C. The
availability of student financial aid for students with economic need and of
tuition remission;
D. The
extent to which current and prospective students can afford possible increases
in tuition;
E. The
relationship of projected tuition revenue to institutional and/or program costs;
F. Tuition
and fees, net of remissions and waivers, charged by peer institutions or
programs, as compared to tuition and fees, net of remissions, at the UNC
institution or program (the public subsidy received by students at public
institutions or programs in the peer set, including the UNC institution or
program in question, will also be identified as part of the comparison);
G. A plan
for the intended use of additional tuition receipts (e.g., needed improvements
to the educational program, funding for competitive salary increases, financial
aid, etc.); and
H. Assistantships
or grant support for graduate students;
I. Analysis of student indebtedness
levels within the University.
4. Timing
and Review of Board Action
The Board will act by February
of each year, or as soon as possible thereafter, to establish the University's
campus-initiated tuition rates for the next academic year. Setting campus-initiated tuition rates by
February will permit students and their families to know in early spring what
their tuition charges for the fall semester will be, assuming consistency
between the actions of the Board of Governors and the General Assembly. Moreover, an institution is required to
submit a one-time report at the end of the first full biennium following an
approved campus-initiated tuition rate increase in order to
confirm that the additional revenues were used as the Board intended in
approving the campus request. This will
ensure the accountability of a campus for its tuition proposals as well as
enable the Board to maintain the University’s accountability to the State.
5. Tuition
Requests in Context of Long Range Plans
All proposals for campus-based
tuition increases will include the campus’ plan for other tuition increases for
a prospective period of five years, including the year of the current
application.
6. Individual
Consideration of Campus Request
The Board will review each
campus-based tuition request on an individual basis, within the context of the
University’s long range plan, the need for
Board-initiated tuition increases, the state’s economic environment, and the
financial impact on students. The Board
is obligated to exercise its discretion in granting, modifying
or denying a campus request.
II. Establishing Fees.
The Board of Governors is
responsible for establishing fees at the constituent institutions of the
University consistent with the philosophy set forth in the North Carolina
constitution. Fees will be charged only
for limited, dedicated purposes and shall not be used to defray the costs of
general academic and administrative operations of campuses, including academic
programs and faculty and administrative salaries and benefits. Consistent with the above citation, the Board
will make every effort to keep fees for students as low as possible while
providing the revenues needed to support the purposes for which the fees are
charged.
Each
year, the Board establishes the fees listed below. All fees established shall be based upon the
recommendation of the chancellor, the institutional Board of Trustees, and
following his or her review, the President.
Excluding the application fee charged to prospective students, all fees
set by the Board are annual fees. Once
an annual fee has been established, semester rates, summer rates, and part-time
rates shall be established by the President.
It is the policy of the Board to act no later than February of each year
to establish fees for the following fall semester.
1. Although
the General Assembly provides for most of the instructional costs of
institutions through State appropriations, institutions traditionally rely
entirely on student fees to finance a number of
activities, services, and facilities.
Institutional Boards of Trustees are required to weight the benefits of
the activity, facility or service against the fee required to provide financial
support. Orientation sessions for the
Boards of Trustees will regularly include discussions of the process followed
when establishing student fees.
A. Application
Fee. An application fee shall be
established for each institution.
Specific programs within an institution may require an application fee
different from the fee charged for most students and the Board may set
different fees according to program needs.
B. General
Fees. Fees generally applicable to all
students shall be established by the Board of Governors. Four general fees are authorized: athletic
fees, health services fees, student activity fees, and educational and
technology fees.
C. Fees
Related to the Retirement of Debt Incurred for Capital Projects. Fees generally applicable to all students
that provide revenues for the retirement of debt shall be fixed by the Board of
Governors at the time of the borrowing.
Indebtedness fees may not include components for operations and
maintenance but shall reflect the cost of servicing the debt at the coverage
levels required in Board resolutions and other documents authorizing the
debt. Changes in fees required subsequent to the issuance of the debt may be approved by
the President upon the request of the chancellor. Indebtedness fees expire when the related
debt is retired.
D. Special Fees. Fees applicable only to students engaged in particular activities or courses of study shall be
established by the Board of Governors when needed. These fees will not be used to provide
general academic revenues that will be provided for from campus-initiated
tuition increases.
2. Each
chancellor is authorized to establish miscellaneous service charges for such
items as transcripts, diplomas, caps & gowns, special examinations, late
registrations, and replacement of I.D. cards.
A schedule of such charges shall be filed with the President prior to
the beginning of each school year.[2]
3. The
process for establishing fees shall be as follows:
A. In
academic years ending in odd numbers (e.g., June 30, 2003, prior to the short
session of the General Assembly in 2004), the process shall be initiated at the
beginning of the fall semester and contain the following steps.
i. The Vice President for Finance
shall issue instructions to the campus chancellors calling for them to initiate
a review of fees.
ii. Each
chancellor shall establish a fee review committee with representatives of all
aspects of campus life, including, but not limited to, representatives from
Business Affairs, Student Affairs, the Financial Aid Office, and the student
body. The Committee shall conduct a
complete review of student fees from a zero-based budgeting perspective and
shall make recommendations to the chancellor for establishing fees effective
with the upcoming fall semester. The review will include an examination of
alternative resources, including available institutional reserves, to determine
if other funding is available to provide the services in lieu of establishing
the fee. The review will include a
reassessment of the existing operating methods to ensure that operations are
performed in a cost-effective manner. If
the committee determines that an increase in a fee is needed, the committee
shall attempt to decrease another fee so that the total cost of education for
students does not increase. In order to ensure that all students are able to meet the
increased cost of education, the university's financial aid officer, working
with the committee, shall determine that sufficient financial aid is available,
from whatever sources are possible.
iii. The
chancellor shall review the recommendations of the Committee and present
recommendations to the Board of Trustees for review and approval. Before a chancellor makes recommendations to
the Board of Trustees, the recommendations of the fee review committee will be
shared with student government leaders so that students may inform the
chancellor of their perspectives on the proposed changes.
iv. The recommendations of the Board of
Trustees will be forwarded to the President for review.
v. When the review is completed, the
President will present fee recommendations to the Budget and Finance Committee
for consideration by the Board of Governors.
Each step in the process shall be an
iterative and comprehensive review of the previous step, resulting in changes
to the fee recommendations as deemed appropriate.
B. In
academic years ending in even numbers (e.g., June 30, 2004, prior to the long
session of the General Assembly in 2005), fee increase proposals submitted by
the institutional Board of Trustees to the President may be approved by the
President if the increase provides only for the following:
i. Additional revenues equal to the
amount required for funding compensation increases for fee-supported employees
at a level equivalent to the previous years' compensation increases authorized
by the General Assembly.
ii. Additional revenues for nonpersonnel items at a level equivalent to increases in
the consumer price index.
If a campus requires other
changes in fees in academic years ending in even numbers, the process that
shall be followed is identical to that followed in academic years ending in odd
numbers.
[1]Consistent with G.S. 116-143, no tuition or fees may be charged to
students in the high school program at the North Carolina School of Science and
Mathematics. Service charges may be
established consistent with Section II.2. below.
[2]The Chancellor of the North Carolina School of Science and
Mathematics shall transmit by July 1 of each year a schedule of service charges
at that institution for approval by the President.