Senate Proposes Limiting Credit Cards for “Underage” Students
For most young adults, reaching the age of 21 is the final step into adulthood. At that age, they are allowed to purchase alcohol, having already been granted the privileges of working, driving, voting, smoking and enlisting in the military. Legislation before the U.S. Senate would add another “privilege” to reaching the age of 21: being able to receive a credit card.
Study Predicts Shortfall for UNC
North Carolina is one of 39 states likely to face a shortfall in higher education spending in the next several years, according to a new report by Harold A. Hovey, a state budget and tax expert with the California-based National Center for Public Policy and Higher Education.
Senate Rejects House Bond Proposal
The Senate, on June 13, rejected a House bill that would have allowed N.C. citizens to vote on a $1.2 billion bond package for UNC system schools through a statewide referendum. The Senate had passed it’s own version of the bill, which would allow the state to issue $3 billion in state bonds and the UNC Board of Governers to issue an unlimited amount of “special obligation bonds” without a voter referendum. A conference committee has been appointed to work out a compromise bill.
Will Spending on University Campuses Cause Prosperity?
Proponents of the University of North Carolina’s huge spending program — to be financed with bonds that don’t require voter approval — have been pulling out all the stops. In a General Assembly committee hearing on the legislation, UNC President Molly Broad said that it should be approved because the late UNC Chancellor Michael Hooker wanted it. That was within hours of his death.
The Real Cost of University Bonds
The much-discussed $4.9 billion in state and university bonds for higher education will cost a bit more than taxpayers might realize.
Study Urges UNC to Slow Down on Bond
The Pope Center for Higher Education Policy this week released a Spotlight showing why the UNC system should not rely on bonds to finance the UNC system’s construction costs and highlighting better ways to address construction needs. The report poses questions that it says all citizens and legislators should ask before giving approval to the legislation: Can’t the necessary capital dollars come from existing growth in funding?
UNC-Chapel Hill one of highest-paying public universities, study finds
The University of North Carolina at Chapel Hill pays professors the fifth-highest average salary among public universities of its kind, a study by the Pope Center for Higher Education Policy has found. The other Research I institution in North Carolina, North Carolina State University, also pays its professors well comparatively, with an average salary greater than the nationwide average for public Research I institutions. The study examined 56 Research I institutions’ salaries adjusted for the cost of living at each institution’s location.
Bonds: The Answer to UNC Construction Costs?
Bonds may not be the best answer to UNC’s rising construction cost, according to a recent analysis by the Pope Center for Higher Education Policy. The report comes in the wake of a proposal by the UNC Board of Governors to meet the university’s construction needs by allowing the UNC-system to sell “special obligation” bonds and the state to issue “limited obligation” bonds. The proposal is scheduled to reach the General Assembly within weeks.
House Budget Poses Gains for Higher Education
This year’s House budget proposal of $13 billion includes tremendous gains for higher education, including millions more for community colleges. The full House is expected to vote on the budget this week.
UNC Sets Sights on New Funding Sources
The UNC Board of Governer’s meeting on May 14 led to the approval of two financial “tools” that could change the way that UNC pays back construction bonds, according to Associated Press reports. The tools are included in two legislative bills that should reach the General Assembly within weeks.