In December, the North Carolina Board of Trustees approved a 6.5 percent tuition increase for all UNC-Wilmington students for the 2011-12 school year. The tuition increase results in a $196.85 increase for resident undergraduates, $222.34 increase for resident graduate students, $918.29 increase for non-resident undergraduates, and $932.66 increase for non-resident graduate students.

Included in the tuition increase is a 2.46 percent increase in mandatory student fees. The tuition and fee request will not be made final until the UNC Board of Governors approves it in February.

Charles Maimone, UNCW Vice Chancellor of Business Affairs, admitted that the increase was inevitable and necessary to maintain the quality of a UNCW education.

“Everyone along the way is doing everything they can to keep tuition down,” said Maimone. “But we are in very interesting times, and the state is facing very serious budget deficits. Limited resources have driven us to that 6.5 point. It’s about our commitment to a quality education more than anything else.”

It is clear that UNCW has been affected by this economic recession. According to Maimone, UNCW lost $28 million in state support in the last three years.

“These are losses in buying power in significant ways,” said Maimone. “But we have to work to keep those cuts as far away from the classroom as possible.”

To combat budget cuts, UNCW wanted to institute a tuition increase that addressed classroom needs first. The tuition increase will generate $3.7 million in revenue for the university and will be divided into four specific areas: financial aid, faculty positions, library and technical support.

Thirty percent of the tuition increase will be used for financial aid, which is five percent higher than the requirement set by the Board of Governors. This financial aid will be provided to students with the greatest need and who do not meet the criteria for the UNCW SOAR financial aid program.

Just over 56 percent of the tuition increase will be used for faculty positions. The increase will maintain 21 tenure/tenure-track faculty positions and will continue to address that student to faculty ratio goal of 15:1.

Over 4 percent of the increase will be used to create two new librarian positions. A Service Quality librarian/Assessment Specialist will be hired to provide improvements to the library and will be critical to student academic success. Also a Scholarly Communications Officer will be hired to provide assistance with research and other library needs.

Finally, 9.5 percent of the tuition increase will be used for technology support. The money will be used to create one new position and fund four other positions currently listed as “limited time.” Also, UNCW will use these funds to produce a Matlab license which will grant all students access for teaching, learning and research.

“We will use this money as close to the classroom as possible,” said Maimone. “The major amount of money that we have in the general fund goes to providing instruction. It’s about getting the number of faculty members in so we can maintain the curriculum and the course sections…because those things drive your ability to get to graduation.”

Chancellor DePaolo echoed Maimone’s statements in a press release and said that the money generated from the tuition increase is going to needs-based areas.

“Given the financial information the advisory committee had at the time its recommendations were developed, it did a tremendous job identifying the most pressing needs for our campus,” said DePaolo.

Maimone noted that a tuition increase was necessary in order to give students a better opportunity to graduate in four years, and more course sections and available professors will contribute to keeping students from paying more than four years worth of tuition. “The best way to keep the cost of your education down is to graduate on time,” said Maimone.

Along with the tuition increase, in 2011-12 students will pay a mandatory fee of $58.80, which includes $71.00 to Student Activities, $4.80 to Athletics, $3.00 to Transportation and a reduction of $20.00 in Special Fees.

Looking ahead, more tuition increases are possible in future years. But Maimone hopes that the increases will remain below 6.5 percent.

“We are committed to maximizing at 6.5 and our effort will be to keep it lower than that at all possible,” said Maimone.