PEMBROKE — The chancellor of The University of North Carolina at Pembroke said Friday that he could support a bill that lowers tuition at his university as long as money to replace the lost revenue would be assured by the state
“Concerns have been expressed about financial implications,” Dr. Robin Cummings said. “UNCP would not support any proposal that reduces tuition without a provision to replace the lost revenue. An amendment passed today calls for additional state funding to cover the cost of a tuition revenue loss resulting from enactment of the North Carolina Promise Tuition Plan.”
It is estimated that UNCP would lose about $10 million to $15 million a year in tuition revenue under the proposal.
Cummings’ statement came after Republican Sen. Tom Apodaca decided to drop three historically black colleges from Senate Bill 873, which would have lowered tuition for five universities to $500 a semester for in-state students and $2,500 a semester for out-of-state students. The HBCUs originally included in the bill — Winston-Salem State University, Elizabeth City State University and Fayetteville State University — were dropped after protests and complaints that the bill was targeting HBCUs with the intent of bankrupting them.
Apodaca responded by saying he would move forward with the bill without the inclusion of the HBCUs, leaving only UNCP and his alma mater Western Carolina University.
“I’ve been called racist, I’ve been called a bigot — a lot of dishonest names. I’ve never seen anything like it,” said Apodaca, who is Hispanic.
Before the three schools were removed, the bill called for as much as $70 million to be added to the UNC system’s budget to cover the cost of lost tuition revenue starting in the 2018-2019 fiscal year, the year the bill would go into effect.
A recent change in the bill says a chancellor can request additional funds by providing information to the Director of the Budget that documents the amount of tuition revenue loss due to the tuition decrease. It’s unclear how much additional funding would be budgeted for the two schools since the others were removed from the bill.
HBCU leaders and the North Carolina NAACP chapter also voiced concern at the actions of future legislators, saying they had no commitment to upholding the law. Cummings said Friday the university is “aware of the inability of the present General Assembly to financially commit future legislatures.”
“We appreciate the intention of the bill is to adjust tuition to assist students in affording the opportunity a high-quality education provides. This supports our state’s commitment to providing an affordable education. However, many of you have expressed concerns about possible unintended consequences of the bill, such as the potential effect on our value and brand. I agree this is a valid concern,” he said.
James Anderson, chancellor of Fayetteville State University, said in a statement that offering a college education at only $500 a semester may make the value of his institution seem lesser than that of other institutions.
“After all, if someone offers to sell you a $500 car,” Anderson said, “wouldn’t you question its value?”
Some black Senate Democrats agreed that Apodaca had good intentions, but credited the strong backlash to suspicion from the black community that Republican representatives were studying whether Elizabeth City State University should remain open. Several of the schools originally included in the bill had been experiencing declining enrollment. UNCP’s 2015-2016 freshman class, however, was the largest ever.
While Cummings said he feels that the current version of the bill most likely won’t be the final product, he said he knows the intentions of Apodaca and his fellow legislators are good.
According to UNCP’s website, in-state students currently pay $3,531 a year for tuition not including room and board or student fees. Out-of-state students pay $14,475.
“UNC Pembroke’s founding 129 years ago was the product of collaboration between visionary community leaders and lawmakers to provide access to education,” Cummings said. “We are committed to continuing that vision.”
