UNC-Wilmington students will see a slight hike in some on-campus fees next school year.
Earlier this month, the university’s board of trustees approved an approximately three percent increase to both on-campus housing and meal plans.
Depending upon where they live, students will pay between $152 and $208 more for housing in 2016-17. Double rooms in traditional residence halls will go $76 per semester–from $2,523 to $2,599–and suites, apartments and Seahawk Village rates will jump up $86, $92 and $104, respectively.
According to campus officials, several of the university’s residence halls–Graham, Belk and Hewlett–require approximately $10 million in “imminent maintenance.”
It’s a plan that puts UNCW in line with many of its peers in the UNC system. Several North Carolina public universities, including Appalachian State, UNC-Asheville, East Carolina and UNC-Charlotte, have proposed or approved between two and four percent increases in housing fees beginning with the fall semester. N.C. A&T State is considering a five percent hike and Western Carolina, 10.5 percent.
The UNCW Board of Trustees annually reviews and adjusts room rates each December. Last year, trustees approved a $49 increase to traditional dorm rooms.
The board opted again to raise the cost of meal plans, having approved a 3.25 percent increase for the current year. In 2016-17, the plans will cost an additional $45 to $55 per student each semester.
That move is expected to generate $271,000 more next year, money that will be used in part to expand and renovate dining facilities and deal with operating costs of extended hours of operation and rising food costs. UNCW also plans to build The Hub, a new 10,000 square-foot eating space.
The fee increases follow a four percent rise in tuition approved by the UNC Board of Governors systemwide in February. Per-semester tuition will go from the current $4,188 to approximately $4,355 next year. Out-of-state students will see their tuition increase by 1.5 percent each semester.
Over the last few years and moving forward, UNCW remains about $4,000 more expensive to attend annually than the average of all public universities statewide.
Hilary Snow is a reporter at Port City Daily. Reach her at hilary.s@portcitydaily.com.
