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We've already called it outrageous that N.C. taxpayers subsidize booster clubs by allowing them to pay in-state tuition for out-of-state scholarship athletes. But here's how truly outrageous it is. That tuition break has given out-of-staters an edge on getting into UNC Chapel Hill.
That's right. N.C. residents are paying to get out-of-staters into spots in the state's flagship university that could have gone to N.C. residents. Chapel Hill's incoming freshman class has grown by 200 compared to 2005. But only 20 of those spots went to North Carolinians. The rest – 180 – went to out-of-state students.
That edge may be true at other UNC system schools too. In any case, the 2005 state law allowing in-state tuition for these out-of-staters has enabled schools to exceed a state limit on out-of-state students. The limit is 18 percent but this year's freshman class at Chapel Hill has 20.8 percent. Those out-of-staters are counted as in-staters, dropping the percentage to 17.9.
With this program, N.C. taxpayers are shelling out $10 million annually to essentially shaft our own kids. That's crazy. It's even crazier in an economic downturn that resulted in a state budget that forces most students at state schools to pay higher tuition. An extra $10 million in the university system's budget could have helped ameliorate some of that hike.
But N.C. lawmakers decided to continue the craziness – even with a budget that had a multibillion-dollar gap to close. The budget not only continues this tuition break, it does so while reducing support for N.C. students who attend private colleges and universities in the state. Legislators cut the Legislative Tuition Grant by $100, from $1,950 to $1,850. That grant has helped many N.C. students go to private colleges without having to leave the state. The cut will make it harder for them to do so, and will save $3.2 million each year.
Yes, we understand some of the reasoning behind the in-state tuition break for these out-of-staters. The theory was that it would allow key scholarship programs to award more scholarships to athletes and others. It also aimed to attract some of the brainiest out-of-state students to the system, boosting the quality of the student body and perhaps encouraging those students to stay in the state after graduation.
But the practical impact has been to subsidize well-heeled athletic booster clubs. The clubs don't need the help. But the N.C. residents who are losing out do.
Lawmakers have shirked their duty by continuing this subsidy. It's nothing more than welfare for the well off. As taxpayers, we should insist legislators end it during their next session.
