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GREENSBORO — N.C. A&T students will see their tuition bills rise over the next five years under a plan the university’s board of trustees approved Friday afternoon.

A UNCG tuition and fee committee this week also recommended increases on that campus.

The tuition increases at A&T represent a 10 percent hike for undergraduates and 12 percent for graduate students.

Tuition for in-state undergraduates will rise $279, and fees will increase $106, bringing total tuition and fees to $4,951.50 next year.

A $408 tuition and $106 fee increase for in-state graduate students will bring their total tuition and fees to $5,686.50.

Tuition and fees for out-of-state undergraduates will rise $1,349 to $15,549.50. Out-of-state graduate students will see a $1,739 increase to $17,119.50.

Next year won’t be the last time A&T students feel the pain of a higher tuition bill. Under a plan to phase in increases, undergraduates will pay an additional $200 a year for another four years. Graduate students will pay an extra $300 a year during the same time period.

The UNC system has a 6.5 percent cap in place on tuition increases, but system leaders are allowing campuses this year to propose increases above that cap to help make up for money lost through budget cuts.

The UNC system lost $414 million in state appropriations this year, which meant A&T took a $14 million cut.

“Literally, schools are in a position where we’ve got to figure out something else to do,” Akua Matherson, A&T’s assistant vice chancellor for budget and planning, told the trustees’ business affairs committee Friday morning in explaining the temporary lift on the tuition cap.

Matherson said the increases will help A&T maintain the level of funding needed to compete with its peer institutions.

The tuition money will generate nearly $5 million for the university. It will be invested in need-based financial aid, academic and student support, institutional support such as safety initiatives, and graduate assistantships.

Trustees unanimously approved the increases, but not without concern.

Once the increases kick in, trustee Pamela McCorkle Buncum said she would like to hear how they are affecting students.

She said she wants administrators to compile information such as how many are having to drop out to work and earn money for tuition.

“Their cuts are impacting what we have to do right here today,” Buncum said in an apparent reference to state legislators during the committee meeting. “They want us to get the retention and graduation rates up, but yet ... this is what they give us to work with.”

A&T isn’t the only university to discuss tuition increases this week. UNCG’s tuition and fee committee on Tuesday proposed a $660 increase in tuition and fees for in-state undergraduates, bringing their tuition and fees to $6,153 next year. In-state graduate students will pay an extra $712 for a total of $6,720. UNCG’s trustees will vote on the recommendation next month.

Trustees at UNC-Chapel Hill and N.C. State also approved tuition increases this week. At UNC-Chapel Hill, that increase will amount to more than 15 percent for in-state undergraduates next year, The News & Observer of Raleigh reported Friday.

The UNC Board of Governors must approve the tuition increases and is expected to take up the matter in February.

Noting that the economy — and thus state appropriations — aren’t likely to improve any time soon, A&T trustees Chairman Willie Deese said the university should turn to fundraising.

“I really believe it’s time for us to think about the next capital campaign. I think the students and the institution need it, and I’ve got a number in mind,” Deese said.

He didn’t tell trustees how much he wanted to raise, saying they should debate the campaign goal as a board.

Deese suggested the university try every means available to raise more money for the campus.

“I think we should leave no stone unturned,” he said.
 
Contact Jonnelle Davis at 373-7080 or jonnelle.davis@news-record.com