Recent controversy surrounding the issue of raising the cap on out-of-state freshman enrollment at North Carolina's public colleges and universities likely will prompt the University of North Carolina Board of Governors to postpone its decision on the matter, which is scheduled to take place at a meeting tomorrow.
After the Board's Committee on Educational Planning, Policies and Programs proposed increasing the cap from 18 to 22 percent early last month, other Board members have introduced at least three alternative proposals, according to Joni Worthington, UNC associate vice president for communications and special assistant to the president.
In addition to the new policy proposals, public response to the cap increase prompted Board members to reevaluate the issue.
"There has been a considerable level of concern and questions expressed by various university constituencies and by the general public," Worthington said.
In light of the alternative recommendations, Board Chair Brad Wilson, in an official statement yesterday, said he will ask the Committee to accept a motion at its meeting, scheduled for today, to reconsider the original proposal, thereby moving the decision back to the committee level before final consideration by the full Board.
"The Chairman wants to make sure the Board doesn't act prematurely before it can address the entire situation," Worthington said. "Considering the substantive differences between the alternative proposals and the original one, the Chairman believes the committee should reconcile those differences and concerns before the full Board may be asked to take any action."
Board member Addison Bell, who sits on the committee, said he thinks the committee will pass the motion to reconsider its earlier decision.
"I believe that the motion will pass and that the decision will be postponed indefinitely," Bell said. "There has been a strong public outcry from the citizens of North Carolina."
Bell, along with Board member Peter Keber, proposed an alternative to the original statewide increase that would allow individual institutions within the 16-school UNC system to petition for exemptions on a case-by-case basis and admit out-of-state students exceeding the 18 percent limit.
"There are differences so substantial among the 16 campuses that they need to be looked at separately and not lumped together as a whole," Bell said. "For instance, some of the state's historically black universities like Elizabeth City [State University] and [North Carolina] A&T sometimes have trouble filling their freshman classes, so it makes sense to extend their cap."
Board member Brent Barringer proposed another alternative to the committee's original draft, which would increase the cap for non-resident students at individual campuses while charging them higher tuition rates, according to student Board member Jonathan Ducote, a student at North Carolina State University.
Ducote authored a third alternative, under which individual institutions can petition for exemption from the 18 percent cap by admitting students into programs that would alleviate state shortages of workers in certain professions, such as teaching or nursing.
"What it does is link our enrollment plan at North Carolina to the economic and employment needs in the state," Ducote said. "The plan would require that the campus demonstrate a way of attracting and retaining students, and then find a way to keep them in the state to work in the profession for which they received their degree."
While the original proposal and subsequent proposals emphasize exceptions to the cap only for "academically superior" out-of-state freshmen, Ducote said his proposal cuts out the statistically-based qualification.
"I think the enrollment managers on campus have a good idea of what a very well academically qualified student is," he said. "I don't think singling out SAT scores should be the defining method -- we're going back in time and basing admissions on something that is increasingly irrelevant to the admissions process."
While nonresident enrollment caps remain an issue of contention in North Carolina, Virginia does not impose a statewide limit on out-of-state enrollment for prospective freshmen in its public schools.
Some institutions, however, self-impose guidelines to maintain certain ratios of in-state to out-of-state undergraduate students.
For the past five years, the University has maintained an admissions ratio for incoming freshman of 67 percent in-state students to 33 percent out-of-state students, said University Dean of Admissions John Blackburn.
Blackburn noted that sensitivity over in-state versus out-of-state admissions is always present at public colleges and universities.
"Most people would support the notion of a diverse student body with students from all over the country and all over the world," he said. "When it comes to their individual child, that's where the problem comes in."
It is significantly more difficult for non-Virginia residents to gain admission to the University since more people are competing for fewer spots, he added.
"Out-of-state applicants usually make up 60 percent of our applicant pool, and they're competing for a third of the seats," Blackburn said.
Karen Cottrell, associate provost for admission at the College of William & Mary, said her office sees similar trends of increasing numbers of non-resident applicants.
William & Mary maintains a ratio of 65 percent in-state students to 35 percent out-of-state students for the entire undergraduate body, so each freshman class will vary slightly in composition, Cottrell said.
"It has turned out that William & Mary and U.Va. have developed strong national reputations, which I think brings glory and visibility to the state and enhances the reputation of our higher education system," she said.
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