Under a new policy known as the Carolina Covenant, low-income students entering the University of North Carolina, Chapel Hill next year will be able to attend college without incurring debt.
Chapel Hill Chancellor James Moeser announced the new policy Wednesday evening during his annual State of the University address.
The Carolina Covenant allows students whose families' incomes fall below 150 percent of the poverty level -- roughly $28,000 for a family of four -- to attend UNC virtually for free. To compensate, the students must work on campus 10 to 12 hours per week, according to Shirley Ort, associate provost and director of scholarships and student aid.
In years past, students who met the conditions of the Covenant took on loans totaling approximately 40 percent of their need, the amount required for one to live and attend school at UNC. A combination of scholarships and federal and state grants supplied the remaining 60 percent.
Ort said the main purpose of the Covenant is to encourage students who do not currently consider attending UNC.
"We're hoping that this will send a clear message about the cost of an education in North Carolina to those who know least about it," she said. "We wanted to make sure that the public knows that a Carolina education is affordable."
Sandy Baum, an economics professor at Skidmore College, agreed, but added that it is significant that low-income students no longer have to take student loans.
"Many low-income students have no family resources to draw on, and so are less willing to take on loans than middle-income students," Baum said.
University President John T. Casteen, III agreed that the program is a good one.
"By and large these students are not currently in the pool for the stronger public universities. Chapel Hill's approach should bring them in," Casteen said.
Ort said UNC requires students to work 10 to 12 hours per week partly because research indicates that students who work a moderate number of hours per week typically earn better grades and are more likely to graduate than those who do not work.
Baum said one benefit of the Covenant is that it prevents students from working too much.
"Most students who are eligible for assistance already work that much if not more," Baum said. "On the other hand, if you work too much, say 20 hours a week, your grades can suffer."
Casteen mentioned the changes at UNC yesterday during the Board of Visitors meeting. He said that the University has begun to estimate the cost of a similar program.
Tuition for public universities in North Carolina traditionally has been much lower than tuition for public universities across the nation. This is partly attributable to the North Carolina constitution, which stipulates that public Universities provide instruction "at low prices."
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