Among public universities, that ranged from 36% of graduates at UNC Chapel Hill, who owed an average of $20,563 in 2019-20, to 91% of graduates at NC Central University, who owed an average of $44,312.8
There are multiple factors – the pandemic and remote classes, Baby Boomer retirements, inability to reach a state budget agreement in 2019, politicization of the University – but this spike in departures was unlike any seen in the previous four years.
System officials attributed the jump in resignations to the pandemic and the Great Resignation.
But others weren’t so sure.
Kevin McClure, an associate professor of higher education at UNC Wilmington, said other factors include “burnout, demoralization, disengagement,” issues that “have been around a long time and are not going away when the pandemic does. The pandemic revived them.”9
CHANCELLORS ALSO WARNED their governing board that the stresses of flat tuition and inflation are eroding campuses’ ability to attract and retain talent and complete construction projects.
NC State University Chancellor Randy Woodson – not known as a whiner – told the Board of Governors in April that NC State’s buying power was down $50 million due to inflationary pressures.
“We haven’t had a tuition increase for resident students for six years now,”10 Woodson said. “It’s beginning to impact our ability to meet the needs of the state.”
Chancellors from UNC Chapel Hill, UNC Wilmington and UNC Pembroke echoed Woodson’s comments.11
Then, in July, the General Assembly and the governor agreed to give University, Community College and other state employees a raise of 3.5% – less than half the 8.6% rate of inflation at the time, even though the state was sitting on a surplus of $6.5 billion .
It was effectively a pay cut .12
This comes at a time when new employers like Apple, Google, Boom Supersonic, VinFast and Toyota have announced plans to come to North Carolina.
While training for most of those jobs will likely come from the state’s community colleges,13 those companies undoubtedly will need engineers and other employees with four-year degrees as well.
MEANWHILE, THE GENERAL ASSEMBLY plans to spend more than $180 million 14 to build a new headquarters for the UNC System, the NC Community College System, the Department of Public Instruction and Department of Commerce across the street from the Legislative Building in Raleigh.15
Plans for the UNC System Office to move from Chapel Hill into rented space in Raleigh while the new building is constructed are already well underway.
That’s a whole lot of coin to keep the universities under the legislature’s thumb.
1 https://www.bestnc.org/wp-content/uploads/2022/07/Facts-Figures-July-2022.pdf , p. 51.2 https://www.higheredworks.org/2022/02/unc-board-keep-tuition-flat-a-sixth-year/ ; https://www.higheredworks.org/2022/09/hans-no-unc-system-tuition-increase-in-2023-24/ .3 https://www.bestnc.org/wp-content/uploads/2022/07/Facts-Figures-July-2022.pdf , p. 52.4 https://www.northcarolina.edu/future-students/nc-promise/ .5 https://www.ncleg.gov/Laws/Constitution/Article9 , Article IX, Section 9.6 https://www.wral.com/with-average-nc-student-debt-nearly-40-000-local-students-react-to-loan-forgiveness/20431047/ . 7 http://ticas.org/interactive-map/ . 8 https://www.northcarolina.edu/apps/bog/doc.php?id=66644&code=bog , pp. 11-21; https://www.insidehighered.com/news/2022/04/26/unc-faculty-staff-turnover-spikes-spurs-search-answers .9 https://www.higheredworks.org/2022/05/unc-system-pervasive-and-overtly-partisan-political-control/ . 10 Important detail: Under state law, the UNC System has guaranteed tuition. As long as a student stays enrolled and in good standing, the student is guaranteed the same rate of tuition for eight consecutive semesters. So if the UNC System raises tuition, the increase would apply only to incoming freshmen, or roughly one-fourth of the student body.11 https://www.higheredworks.org/2022/04/bog-inflation-bites-unc-campuses/ . 12 https://www.higheredworks.org/2022/07/a-pay-cut/ . 13 https://www.higheredworks.org/2022/10/chatham-with-9000-new-jobs-its-a-regional-economy/ .14 https://www.ncleg.gov/Sessions/2021/Bills/House/PDF/H103v4.pdf , pp. 172-174.15 https://www.higheredworks.org/2022/07/unc-across-the-street/ .