The University’s Board of Trustees will meet Thursday, but rather than discussing critical issues surrounding the recently passed state budget, they will focus on unidentified “personnel” issues.
According to Keith Nichols, director of news and communication, personnel issues are required to be discussed in closed meetings. Nichols said he could not expand on what issues are slated to be discussed, but said the secrecy should not be construed to be ominous.
“This is a routine meeting,” Nichols said. “There is no big news that’s going to come out of this meeting.”
Since the meeting is closed session, only the executive committee is invited. Student Body President Chandler Thompson has a seat on the board of trustees but is not on the executive committee, and therefore cannot attend the meeting. As of Wednesday at 4 p.m., she was unaware of the meeting entirely.
“I would be invited to a regular meeting, but not to this one,” Thompson said.
While the implications of the state’s budget for the UNC system and the University are controversial topics, the board of trustees is currently incapable of making necessary decisions for the University since it must wait on the decisions of the Board of Governors – an organization overseeing the entire UNC system. The board must first allocate funds to each of the 17 UNC campuses.
Once the board of trustees knows the funds appropriated to N.C. State, it can then proceed with spreading the dollars across University units.
“There is a step or two steps between now and the time that we know what our budget looks like for each unit going forward,” Keith Nichols said.
The board of governors is set to meet in early July, Nichols said.
Although the Board of Governors will not discuss the budget today, the Tuition Review Advisory Committee released its tuition increase recommendations for the 2011-12 school year this past November.
They recommended tuition increases as follows: $300 (6.2%) for in-state undergraduates; $600 (3.5%) for out-of-state undergraduates; $600 (11.2%) for in-state graduates; and $600 (3.4%) for out-of-state graduates.
Nichols said further tuition increases are not planned and will not be recommended today at the trustees meeting. That will have to wait for July.
Based on the board’s laws and stipulations, executives cannot discuss the budget in closed session. But since the doors are closed, it would be difficult to determine what exactly they discuss–and if the budget comes up in conversation.
Follow the Technician as we provide updates on the University’s approach to this budget as information becomes available.
