The UNC Board of Governors has approved tuition and fee increases for UNC institutions that will take effect fall 2009. Of the six percent tuition increase that UNCW proposed, 4.3 percent of it was approved by the BOG. For resident undergraduate students, tuition will be increased by $106, from $2,459 to $2,565.

Of the tuition increase, 40 percent will be used for financial aid and 60 percent will be used for critical needs, which includes new faculty positions to protect and enhance the quality of the students’ educational experience, services for students with disabilities, a mathematics lab, operating funds for the counseling center and an additional advisor for the increased number of transfer students.

“We have determined that our critical needs are the support of the teaching and student support areas, but we have not arrived at specific budget targets,” said Brian Chapman, Provost and Vice Chancellor for Academic Affairs.

None of the funds that come from the tuition increase will be used for salary increases for faculty or staff. UNCW is looking at a strategic plan for these funds.

“The final decisions on where every dollar will be used in the best interests of students will be made after we know more about the magnitude of budget cuts,” Chancellor Rosemary DePaolo said.

Mandatory fees will also increase by $77 at the beginning of the fall 2009 school year. These fees will help finance specific university programs such as improved health services, student activities and Colonial Athletic Association requirements. A new debt service fee of $256 will also take effect. The fee will finance the expansion of the Student Recreation Center, which will eventually help meet the student demand for recreational services.

Despite the tuition increase, UNCW is still one of the top value schools in the state and nation, ranking fifth in the cost of tuition among the UNC school systems. The value comes from low cost and high quality.

According to “Kiplinger’s Personal Finance,” UNCW ranks as one of the top 25 “Best Values” among public universities in the nation and one of the top three in North Carolina. UNCW is also ranked as one of the 50 “Best Value” public colleges and universities in the nation by “The Princeton Review.”