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November 20, 2003
Volume LV, Numier 12
Serving UNC Wilmington siiye 19^8
Proposed bill will penalize
for excessive tuition raises
Kristine Klammer
Staff Writer
The College Affordability in
the Higher Education Act of 2003
proposed by Rep. Howard P.
“Buck” McKeon (R-Calif.)
appears to be the perfect plan to
stop tuition increases, but it is stir
ring up controversy throughout
the world of education.
, Many future college students,
current college students and their
families dream of the day when
tuition prices will stop increasing
and possibly even begin to
decrease. A new bill proposed to
the House of Representatives
claims it is the answer to those
dreams.
The proposed bill would cre
ate a “College Affordability
Index” by measuring the increase
in tuition and fees over a three-
year period divided by the infla
tion rate for the same period. Any
school with an index greater than
two (a tuition rise of more than
twice the rate of inflation) would
be put on the government watch
list.
Schools placed on the gov
ernment watch list would be
required to provide a statement
explaining the increases to the
U.S. Department of Education
and a plan on how the school
plans to manage and reduce the
existing prices.
If the school does not comply
with the management and reduc
tion plan, government financial
assistance will eventually be
withdrawn.
Institutional aid outlined in
Title IV, such as the Federal Work
Courtesy of mckeon hous0.gov
Had the law been in effect this year, more than
1,400 institutions would have lost funding.
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Study Program would also be
withheld.
According to the American
Association of State Colleges and
Universities, “a congressionally-
mandated study released by the
U.S. Department of Education in
2002 confirmed that state funding
is the largest single factor affect
ing tuition and fees in public
institutions.”
By taking away state and fed
eral funding the tuition and fees
would only increase or eventually
spell the end for an institution.
The American Council on
Education said, “more than 1,400
institutions would have lost Title
IV funding in the last two years
had this law been in effect.”
While Rep. McKeon is trying
to help keep higher education
institutions affordable, it appears
that the proposed bill is focused
toward the wrong group. The
AASCU said, “decisions about
tuition and levels are made by
legislatures and statewide higher
education boards - not by institu
tions.”
Therefore, the institutions
themselves do not and cannot
control increases or decreases in
tuition and fees. Implementing
this bill would leave many needy
students with no options for help.
The proposed rules would not
take effect until 2008, which
means the first school could lose
funding in 2011.
Insid« This issu«
Classifieds
7
UNCW
10
UNCW Out-of-State Student Population
if H R n N H * ^ R *
Current
(13%)
Current
cap
(18%)
Proposed
cap
(22%)
/
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III
Andy Bader/lhe Soahawk
Out-of-State cap
may be increased
Ashley Parker
Staff Writer
The UNC Board of Governors
has postponed a vote on two pro
posals that would allow UNC
campuses to accept more out-of-
state students.
They were originally sched
uled to vote on the issue Friday,
but have delayed it due to mount
ing opposition.
Currently, 18 percent of fresh
men can be from out of state. One
proposal raises the cap to 22 per
cent at 15 state universities. The
policy would not apply to the NC
School of the Arts.
The other proposal says that
schools wanting to enroll more
out-of-state students must ask
permission from the board.
UNC-Chapel Hill is at the
forefront of the issue because
competition is highest there
among nonresident students.
According to a report in the
Raleigh News and Observer, “the
campus received 11,000 applica
tions for 635 seats this year.”
Officials there are concerned by
the number of students they have
had to reject who scored better
than 1,400 on the SAT-reportedly
over 1,000.
The concern among some leg
islators and the state school boards
association is that more nonresi
dent students mean fewer students
from this state. UNC-Chapel Hill
officials say they want to increase
both numbers.
Here at UNCW, the board of
trustees has not taken an official
position, though none of the state
universities have spoken out
against the plan.
Mark Lanier, special assistant
to the chancellor, told Star News,
“we can attract some very bright
out-of-state students,” which
would bring in new ideas and
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