Each week, staff at Carolina Journal looks back at the week in N.C. politics and chooses several interesting, relevant stories you may have missed. Falling behind: Senate Republicans are touting a study from the Organisation for Economic Cooperation and Development that says students will fall further behind if schools offer only remote learning. An average...
The University of North Carolina Board of Governors is keeping tuition and fees the same no matter what happens with COVID-19. But while UNC insists the value of classes remains high — even when those classes are held via Zoom — students tell Carolina Journal this isn’t the college experience they paid for. Tuition and fees...
The University of North Carolina System won’t raise tuition and fees this year while students and their families struggle to stay financially afloat amid the COVID-19 pandemic. That’s a good start, one expert says, but UNC should use this time to reconsider its approach to affordable higher education. In an action-packed meeting Wednesday, May 20,...
Beaufort businessman Randy Ramsey has been elected permanent chairman of the University of North Carolina System’s Board of Governors. It’s a welcome development for a board that’s weathered years of tumultuous relationships and high turnover in leadership, BOG member Marty Kotis told Carolina Journal. The 24-member body has been led by four people since 2015....
Editor’s note: This story has been updated from its original version. College entrance exams are canceled or postponed nationwide due to the coronavirus outbreak. But North Carolina students who can’t retake tests to post a better SAT or ACT score on their fall college applications may still be accepted to a University of North Carolina...
In North Carolina, the golden ticket for resident college hopefuls is $1,000 yearly tuition at a handful of public universities. But while the offer looks shiny, the final receipt may stun new students. The General Assembly in 2016 made major tuition cuts at three University of North Carolina System campuses. The program, NC Promise, charges...
Leaders of the University of North Carolina System are feeling “grim,” in the words of one official presentation, after state lawmakers’ latest one-day trip to Raleigh. Legislators embroiled in a political standoff have failed to pass a budget that would fund the university’s priorities. But the UNC Board of Governors is not relinquishing hope. The...
A civil rights organization is trying to send Confederate statue Silent Sam back to UNC Chapel Hill’s campus, a top official says. Silent Sam — which was illegally toppled by protesters in August 2018 — stirred up more conflict in late November. The day before Thanksgiving, a committee of the University of North Carolina System’s...
The University of North Carolina System’s Board of Governors has a transparency problem. Again. This time, the board’s secretive handover of Confederate monument Silent Sam to the controversial Sons of Confederate Veterans organization has drawn public ire and scrutiny. A November deal with SCV, announced the day before Thanksgiving, took place behind closed doors and...
The Silent Sam deal might encourage copycats. The Nov. 27 agreement between the UNC Board of Governors and the N.C. chapter of the Sons of Confederate Veterans, transferring the Confederate monument from the university to the SCV, seems “squirrelly,” said former N.C. Supreme Court Justice Bob Orr. Orr told Carolina Journal the settlement could set...
Harry Smith, the former leader of the University of North Carolina System board, during his tenure was publicly described as “hands-on,” or “very involved” in the operations of the university system and its 17 campuses. A new trove of emails released by the UNC System Friday, Nov. 8, show exactly what that means — and...
