eadad
July 19, 2010, 2:00am
6
<p>Actually 82% in state by law and the UNC legislature has either just repealed or is about to repeal the loophole that allowed those OOS students on full scholarships (recruited athletes, Moreheads, Robertsons etc) to be counted as in state so it effectively has eliminated or will eliminate somewhere between 150-200 spots for “regular” applicants.</p>
<p>OOS admission will be much tougher with this loophole eliminated.</p>
<p>From the News and Observer </p>
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<p>With a state budget still reeling from the recession, North Carolina lawmakers at long last pulled a gift from beneath the tree of university booster clubs that never should have been offered in the first place. Scholarship athletes from out of state no longer will be classified as in-state for tuition purposes, which they were for five years thanks primarily to the lobbying heft of UNC-Chapel Hill boosters.</p>
<p>The break saved the booster clubs about $9 million, which means it cost taxpayers that much. And it made the university system in effect sanction a lie: Students from out of state are not in fact in-state students. The wealthy Rams Club in Chapel Hill had friends on Jones Street, including former state Sen. Tony Rand of Fayetteville, their chief advocate. And UNC-CH also has a political action committee that contributes to key lawmakers friendly to their aims.</p>
<p>This was a bad idea from the start, although those who pushed it tried to cover it in a cloak of virtue by also including in the tuition break full scholarship students with prestigious academic scholarships. The foundations that sponsor them will continue to get the break under a deal hammered out during state budget negotiations. They argue that they will be able to bring more top-notch students to campuses as a result, and with more out-of-state students and foreign students, the educational experience for in-state students will be enhanced.</p>
<p>Yes, some smaller schools will have to scramble if they want to continue bringing in as many out-of-state athletes. But the poor-mouthing on behalf of the well-heeled Rams and the Wolfpack Club of N.C. State is ridiculous. Their members will simply have to cover the difference, and they’re perfectly capable of doing so. Considering the millions of dollars lavished on improvements to stadiums and the millions paid to coaches these days, to stick the taxpayers with a bigger tab is and always was unfair.</p>
<p>There is little good news in the budget this year, but the lean times have at least forced the elimination of this ill-advised and, for taxpayers, insulting policy.
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<p>This was obviously written by a dook fan ;)</p>