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Special
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| Spending back on, cut not as deep as expected |
David Forbes
Staff Writer
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The North Carolina
General Assembly passed a 3 percent budget cut for the UNC
system, ending months of uncertainty for university officials
and students.
“I think it’s actually less than
I expected,” said Jane P. Helm, vice chancellor for business
affairs. “I think we’re still going to have to move
in a very cautious way. It’s still quite likely we will
receive another cut.” |
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“Three percent was a blessing,”
said Student Body President Ryan M. Eller. “We were almost
expecting anywhere from 8-15 percent. I’m comfortable with
the administration taking a conservative stance, we just don’t
know what’s going to happen.”
According to plans made last year by the university, at 3 percent,
the main areas cut would include equipment and open or part-time
faculty positions, leading to increased class size.
“I’m sure we’ll continue with the philosophy of trying
to maintain the integrity of the academic programs,” said Helm.
“So [the cuts] will hit support areas, we don’t buy vehicles,
we don’t buy equipment, we don’t travel.”
“We will make every effort not to cut [currently filled] positions,”
continued Helm.
SGA cabinet members said that they were studying the impact of cuts
on students’ education, including larger class size.
“There were a couple of upper-level courses that are just gone,
to me that’s way more telling than introductory courses increasing
in size,” said Rachel A. Johnson, director of academic affairs
for the Student Government Association (SGA). “I’m going
to have my committee doing research immediately. I want to know
if we’re paying more for less education.”
A reduced budget and further cuts in the future could also lead
to tuition increases. Last year the Board of Governors (BOG) passed
8 percent and 12 percent out-of-state increases.
SGA organized a protest against higher tuition at last year’s
BOG meeting and Eller said another is possible in the coming year.
“Our vision has to be moved from fighting against cuts to fighting
tuition increases,” said Eller. “Students are taking more
of the burden for higher education, and that’s a horrible thing
to see.”
“If the state and the country are in a crisis right now, and
tuition keeps rising for students who are in a failing economy,
how should they have more money?” said Johnson, who was involved
in last year’s protest. “Why are those directly hit by
the economy being asked to pay more? That’s higher education
for those who can afford it, not those who deserve it.”
“We have choices—we can either limit access or fund the
[enrollment] growth,” said Helm. “It’s hard to know
at this point whether it will go up, or the state will fund education
at the expense of other agencies or whether we’ll just simply
limit the number of students.”
Both student representatives and administrators said that much of
the budget situation is due to larger circumstances.
“The economy as a whole is down. Unless the country as a whole
gets back on target, North Carolina is going to feel the effects
of that, just like all the other states,” said Helm. “We
can’t avoid the effects of what’s happening across the
country.” |
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