Is the University of North Carolina system still Number One?

In a recent op-ed, John Fennebresque, chair of the University of North Carolina Board of Governors, assured Citizen-Times readers that the board is committed to “ensuring North Carolina has the best public university in America.” But when it comes to our state government’s commitment to higher education, as the saying goes, “Actions speak louder than words.”

Take for example, Western Carolina University, where I have taught for over two decades. According to a June 8, 2014, report in the Citizen Times, WCU has suffered $39 million in cuts in state funding since 2008. This budget reduction resulted in a loss of 175 full-time jobs. And, like other UNC schools, Western was forced to raise tuition and fees. Article IX Section 9 of the North Carolina Constitution affirms our state’s commitment to universal access to higher education. However, the legislature and the UNC Board of Governors has backed off from this promise. In recent years, state funding has dropped from $9,940 to $8,026 per student. As a result, North Carolina families are facing dramatic increases in college tuition costs. At WCU, between 2008 and 2014, the total costs of tuition and fees rose by 49 percent.

You might be tempted to blame the increased expense of attending a North Carolina university on faculty salaries. You would be dead wrong. Average faculty salaries on the UNC campuses have increased less than 2.5 percent over the past seven years. Indeed, the cost of going to a North Carolina college has jumped roughly 20 times higher than has faculty pay. In fact, after controlling for inflation, university faculty salaries have actually decreased. My university is typical. According to the Chronicle of Higher Education, inflation-adjusted salaries at WCU have dropped 5 percent for full professors, 12 percent for associate professors, and 11 percent for assistant professors since 2006. Salaries at the University of North Carolina at Asheville and Appalachian State University show the same pattern.

Unfortunately, the state legislature has apparently singled out university faculty for special treatment. As documented by Citizen-Times reporter Julie Ball, last year the state legislature allocated funds for across the board increases of $1,000 for nearly all state employees. The legislature, however, stiffed UNC faculty by providing enough funds for a mere $263 raise per faculty member. (Some of the chancellors were able to increase 2014 salaries slightly on their campuses through alternative funding sources.)

Budget cutbacks and stagnant salaries have taken their toll. A recent study found that the average full-time college professor puts in 61 hours a week. Most of us are devoted to our jobs, but seven years with no raises, coupled with increasing class sizes, and more classes taught by low-paid part-time instructors inevitably take a toll on students and staff.

I am proud to have spent most of my professional career teaching and conducting research at a University of North Carolina institution. My children attended UNC system schools, and I am a state taxpayer. I have long viewed the 17 campuses in the UNC system as the jewel in our state’s crown. Sadly, however, there is little evidence to support the Board of Governors chair’s claim that North Carolina remains home to “the best university system in America.”

Hal Herzog lives in Cullowhee.