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Lawmakers ask UNC system to study fixed tuition

The UNC system would look at the possibility of allowing students to pay the same tuition throughout their undergraduate education under a measure approved Tuesday by the House.

Posted 2015-04-21T17:56:56+00:00 - Updated 2015-04-21T19:50:19+00:00

UNC students protested planned tuition hikes across the state university system.

Matthew Burns

The University of North Carolina system would look at the possibility of allowing students to pay the same tuition throughout their undergraduate education under a measure approved Tuesday by the House.

Sponsor Rep. Jeff Elmore, R-Wilkes, said 320 universities nationwide already offer a fixed tuition, using it as a recruitment tool at a time when tuition increases are an annual event at most schools. Tuition at UNC schools has jumped by about 50 percent since 2007, and the Board of Governors has approved another $500 in increases over the next two years.

"This, in my mind, could help address the problem of rising tuition costs," Elmore told members of the House Education Committee on Universities earlier in the day.

House Bill 657 calls on the UNC Board of Governors to study the financial impact of providing fixed tuition and whether it could be used at certain campuses to boost enrollment and report back to lawmakers by next February.

The bill passed 117-0 in the House with no debate and now heads to the Senate.