UNC-Chapel Hill Trustees Approve 3 Percent In-State Tuition Hike

The UNC-Chapel Hill Board of Trustees approved a 3 percent jump for in-state undergraduate tuition in a 6-5 vote on Thursday. Out-of-state rates will climb by 10 percent. Student fees are also going up by 3 percent.

This decision means resident costs for the incoming class of 2026 will spike by $264. Just one day before, a committee had pushed back against this exact plan.

On Wednesday, the budget and finance committee rejected the proposal. Why? Members argued that raising costs would violate North Carolina's constitution, which mandates keeping higher education "as free as practicable."

In-state rates have stayed frozen at all state public universities since 2017 because of a directive from the UNC Board of Governors. This year, that governing body changed course and allowed schools to raise prices for the first time in nearly a decade.

Trustee Jennifer Lloyd said keeping rates frozen for nine years has damaged the school's ability to serve students properly. "This is a large institution that needs to reflect the value of its market and needs to improve the services delivered at every single corner far in excess of the revenue that's currently coming in," Lloyd said, according to WUNC. "We have tolerated an accumulated balance of deferred maintenance and other types of things that we shouldn't be tolerating."

The increase will generate about $800,000 per year. Over four years for the incoming class of 2026, that's $3.2 million. Trustee Jim Blaine called this "pocket lint."

"I am totally unpersuaded that it moves the needle," Blaine said. "I feel like (raising tuition) sends the wrong signal to people about our commitment to being efficient."

Chancellor Lee Roberts announced $70 million in budget cuts earlier this year amid state and federal funding uncertainty. The Trump administration has made $38 million in cuts to federal research grants. Meanwhile, the school's federal research profile has dropped by $110 million this year.

Roberts said the school needs to use "cost-cutting and revenue tools" at the same time. "We do have a significant effort underway to try to cut costs here internally and centralize our operations," Roberts said. "But there's never going to be a point at which you say 'okay, we're done making the operation run as efficiently as it possibly can and now we can look at revenue increases."

The UNC Board of Governors must approve the recommendation before it becomes final. That vote happens next year.