The trend of fast-rising prices for low-income families was especially pronounced in North Carolina, according to the project.
From 2008 to 2011, the four years examined by Tuition Tracker, wealthier students heading to UNC schools saw their out-of-pocket costs increase by 16 percent to nearly $17,500. For poor families, the cost jumped by more than 80 percent to nearly $7,000. State cuts to higher education and corresponding tuition hikes contributed to the jump.
So did the demise of N.C. EARN, a scholarship program that gave $4,000 per year to the state’s neediest students. That program started in 2008—the first year of Tuition Tracker’s data—and died out the next year, a victim of sweeping state budget cuts in the wake of the national financial meltdown.
“It was a real blow to lose this source of funding,” said Deborah Tollefson, UNCG’s director of financial aid, “and we have not recovered.”
The trend toward faster-rising prices for low-income students isn’t true at all North Carolina universities.
In 2012, the legislature repealed a tuition grant of $1,800 that went to all North Carolina students who went to in-state private colleges. The state grant that replaced it will go only to low-income students. Brooks said that could reduce the net price for less-affluent families in the future.
At Wake Forest, the net price for low-income students fell about $2,000 per year over the time measured by Tuition Tracker. A university spokeswoman said Wake Forest nearly doubled the amount of institutional financial aid during the past five years. The school also caps loan amounts at $4,000 per year for low-income families and meets the rest of their financial need through grants and work-study.
©2014 the News & Record (Greensboro, N.C.). Visit the News & Record (Greensboro, N.C.) at www.news-record.com. Distributed by MCT Information Services
- Extron AV Switching, Streaming, and Control Systems Aid Higher Learning at Idaho’s First Medical School - June 1, 2021
- Extron XTP, Streaming, and Control Systems Empower Point Park University’s Varsity Esports Program - June 1, 2021
- Extron NAV Series Delivers AVoIP Throughout Allied Health Veterans Hall at UNC Wilmington - June 1, 2021