Committee approves tuition increase, fee package

The Student and Campus Affairs Committee Thursday approved both the campus-initiated tuition increase proposal and Chancellor Jim Woodward's fee package recommendation.

Student Body President Jim Ceresnak, along with Chair Barbara Mulkey, Jack Cozort and Bob Jordan, make up the committee.

The package, which included the student center renovations fee, was altered to reallocate $.50 from the athletics fee to the education technologies fee.

Talley fee debated heavily

Ceresnak said there was much discussion about the fee increase to renovate Talley Student Center and the Atrium Food Court fueled by concerns students expressed after both the Student Senate and fee committee's approval of the increase.

"There's merit to both arguments," Ceresnak said of whether the fee increase should be approved. "We discussed it pretty thoroughly and, after looking through the proposals, the committee chose to approve it."

Ceresnak said Woodward joined in the discussion over the fee increases, which include an indebtedness fee increase of $83 which will increase over the next three years to $290.

Education technologies fee increase gets half-dollar boost

In a move Ceresnak said he and Student Senate President Kelli Rogers were in support of the committee reduced the fee increase proposal for athletics by $.50 and increased the education technologies fee by the same amount.

"We didn't feel it was appropriate to give athletics more of an increase than education and technology," Ceresnak said, referencing the student services that have been lost due to budget cuts. "It's a nominal change, but we felt those fees should be equal and taken into account. We were both happy the chancellor was willing to make that change."

Rogers, who did not attend the committee meeting, could not be reached for comment late Thursday.

Committee approves campus-initiated tuition increase

A legislatively-mandated $200 "tax on students," according to Ceresnak, factored in to next year's budget is under fire from campuses across the UNC System as the Board yesterday approved a campus-initiated tuition increase he and other student body presidents from across the state hope will replace the state's increase.

The mandated increase, which will be applied across the system, won't return any money to the universities, which is why Ceresnak and other campus leaders attended last week's Board of Governors meeting to voice their support for the alternative CITI.

"It was a hot topic at the Board of Governors," Ceresnak said. "It's important that students are aware of what is in next year's budget. This is another step to putting that money back in the campuses."

Ceresnak said the initiative, which he said was his top priority, was also a step toward putting the pieces back together for universities across the state that have endured heavy budget cuts due to the floundering economy.