WILMINGTON — The UNCW Board of Trustees is set to review a 3% tuition increase across the board, including for in-state undergraduates for the first time in a decade.
With meal plan and housing increases also in the proposal, UNCW estimates the cost of attendance would increase by nearly $750 for an undergraduate resident in the 2026-2027 school year.
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The move follows the UNC System’s decision to allow its 17 schools to increase tuition for undergraduate students that are in-state residents by up to 3%. All other groups — in-state graduate and out-of-state students — have seen steady increases in their tuition at UNCW.
UNC System Board of Governors Chair Wendy Murphy said in a September meeting “generous” state funding has allowed the system to keep tuition low for North Carolina residents. However, she also noted continuing the moratorium would be unsustainable in the face of today’s “financial uncertainty.”
“Universities have absorbed those pressures while holding the line on tuition, but we cannot expect them to continue doing so without negative impacts,” Murphy told her colleagues.
The UNCW Board of Trustees’ vote on the tuition increase, scheduled to take place at Friday’s meeting, will follow UNC-Chapel Hill, N.C. State and East Carolina universities’ approvals of 3% hikes.
UNCW’s current tuition is:
- In-state undergraduate students: $4,443
- Out-of-state undergraduate students: $22,597
- In-state graduate students: $5,595
- Out-of-state graduate students: $22,646
Under the proposed 3% hike, tuition rates would be:
- In-state undergraduate: $4,576
- Out-of-state undergraduate students: $23,474
- In-state graduate students: $5,762
- Out-of-state graduate students: $23,325
The increase represents an $876 rise in tuition for in-state graduates since the 2023-2024 year and more than a $3,500 increase in tuition for out-of-state students over the same period.
The UNC System requires institutions to make it a goal for nonresident tuition and fees to be at or above the top third of its peer institutions, while in-state tuition is required in the bottom quartile. While UNCW’s in-state tuition hike would stay within these parameters, UNCW would remain in the bottom quartile for out-of-state tuition at $25,541; the third quartile is at or above $31,619. Peer institutions in the third quartile are James Madison University, the University of Maryland-Baltimore County and the University of Massachusetts-Lowell.
UNCW’s projected revenue boost with a 3% increase is more than $2.5 million. Of this, nearly $1.92 million will be put toward faculty hires in high-demand and growing disciplines. Though UNCW hasn’t specified what positions in its agenda documents, it notes the Cameron School of Business has had a 15% rise in student credit hours production, while College of Science and Engineering experienced 6% more, College of Health and Human Services escalated by 5% and the College of the Humanities, Social Sciences and the Arts is up by 4%. There is no mention of the College of Education.
The remaining additional revenue, $587,000, will be directed toward student support services, academic advising being the main focus, according to the document.
In addition to the tuition hikes, UNCW is also proposing a 4% increase to all housing contracts and a 5% increase to meal plans. Both purchases are required of freshmen and sophomores, the latter group having been required to live on campus since 2021. UNCW is the only UNC System campus to have a two-year requirement.
Since implementing the sophomore residency mandate, UNCW has struggled to provide its on-campus students with enough housing, resorting to leasing units at off-campus facilities, including Plato’s Lofts and the Cottages at College Acres. The university has planned for one new dorm in its 10-year campus master plan.
Still, UNCW students living in the university’s oldest residence halls can expect to see between a $148 to $204 rise in semester housing rates, should the pricing become BOT-approved. The newer dorms will increase between $190 to $218 per semester; Plato’s Lofts and the Cottages at College Acres will raise $223.
As for the meal plans, students can expect to pay between $108 and $124 more per semester depending on which plan is chosen.
There were no fee increases included in the document published ahead of time for Friday’s meeting.
Reach journalist Brenna Flanagan at brenna@localdailymedia.com.
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