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Chapel Hill Campus to Cover All Costs for Needy Students
October 2, 2003
By DIANA JEAN SCHEMO
WASHINGTON, Oct. 1 - In what is believed to be a first for
a public college, the University of North Carolina at
Chapel Hill announced on Wednesday that it would cover the
full costs of an education for students from families of
the working poor without forcing the students to take on
loans.
The announcement comes as public universities, hit by
historic shortfalls in state revenue, have raised tuition
by 10 percent this year, outpacing private colleges and
universities.
Recent studies have shown that the average student now
graduates from college with more than $17,000 in loans,
double the amount of a decade ago, with the debt scaring
away many potential first-generation college students.
James Moeser, the chancellor at Chapel Hill, called the new
policy "an _expression_ of our values at this university."
The chancellor said it sought to counter the growing
perception among high school graduates from poor families
that higher education was out of reach for them. As the
nation's oldest public university, he said, "This idea of
access is deeply embedded in our genetic code, in our DNA."
Under the university's new approach, which will take effect
with next year's entering class, the university is pledging
to provide aid to cover the full cost of an education for
students whose parents earn less than 150 percent of the
poverty level, or $28,000 for a family of four. The
students must agree to work on campus in state and federal
work-study programs 10 to 12 hours a week, a level that is
widely considered manageable.
The estimated cost of an education at the Chapel Hill
campus runs $13,088 for North Carolina residents, of which
$4,072 is for tuition and fees. The cost for out-of-state
students runs $25,436, $15,920 of that for tuition and
fees.
When fully operational, the policy is expected to cost
$1.38 million a year, with a least half of that offset by
work study and federal and state grants. University
officials hope to raise the rest of the money through
private donations.
Higher education experts and advocates for students hailed
the university's new policy, and said they hoped that other
public universities would follow suit.
Several years ago, Princeton became the first Ivy League
university to offer full financial aid to needy students
without recourse to student loans.
Brian K. Fitzgerald, staff director of the Advisory
Committee on Student Financial Assistance, called the move
"an extremely important step," noting that for low-income
students, "the barriers to higher education are very severe
and, in fact, rising."
"It sends a clear unequivocal message to the citizens of
North Carolina that you can attend the state's flagship
university, arguably among the best in the country,
regardless of your ability to pay," said Dr. Fitzgerald,
whose committee advises Congress on higher education.
Over the last 30 years, that promise, once universal, has
eroded, Dr. Fitzgerald said, as costs rose while government
grants and private scholarships failed to keep pace.
http://www.nytimes.com/2003/10/02/education/02COLL.html?ex=1066137554&ei=1&en=17a06403521f6868
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