Appalachian State University students will pay $468 more in tuition costs next year in an attempt to quell budget cuts imposed on the university by the North Carolina General Assembly.
UNC system President Erskine Bowles approved the tuition hike Wednesday after meeting with representatives from Appalachian’s Board of Trustees via teleconference Tuesday afternoon.
Bowles approved tuition increases for all 16 state universities, which were permitted to increase tuition costs up to $750 when the General Assembly cut nearly $70 million from the UNC system’s budget June 30.
“This is being done to protect the classroom,” Greg Lovins, Vice Chancellor of Business Affairs, said. “We want to protect the vacant faculty positions that would have been lost if there was no tuition increase.”
The tuition increase comes on top of an additional $152 increase that was already approved for the 2010-11 school year. Coupled with that amount, in-state students at Appalachian will pay a total $2,960 for tuition in 2010-11, a 26 percent increase from last year.
Appalachian students will pay less than most North Carolina students though, with seven of the 16 state schools raising their costs by more than $500.
North Carolina State University and the University of North Carolina at Chapel Hill chose to increase their tuition by the maximum and will make students pay $750 in increases next year.
Appalachian State University students will pay $468 more in tuition costs next year in an attempt to quell budget cuts imposed on the university by the North Carolina General Assembly.
