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By Scott Nicholson
nicholson@wataugademocrat.com
Appalachian State University students face more than $500 in
tuition and fee increases next year after the ASU Board of Trustees
approved increases during Friday’s meeting.
Interim Vice Chancellor for Business Affairs Greg Lovins introduced
the tuition and fee increase, as recommended by the University
of North Carolina Board of Governors.
At least a fourth of tuition should be used for need-based financial
aid and another 25 percent is used for faculty salaries. Tuition
increases would be used to boost faculty salaries, expand library
hours and provide other services.
Tuition will increase by $117 and general fees will increase
by $72 if the plan is approved by the university system. The
athletics general fee will increase $30 to $556; the Health
Services fee will increase $42 to $236; debt service fee will
increase $100 to $502 to pay for a Student Union expansion;
a 5 percent increase in all food-service meal plans would cover
rising cost of operations; all residence hall plans would be
increased $100, with phone service no longer included; textbook
rental fee would increase $25; and the transportation fee would
increase $8.
The tuition and fees increase will take place beginning with
the fall semester if approved by the UNC Board of Governors.
The total annual increase for in-state students is 5.3 percent,
or $517 a year for in-state students. Out-of-state tuition and
fees would increase by $1,045 a year. The total increase will
generate more than $2.5 million a year.
Tuition and general fees will cost each in-state undergraduate
student $4,563 in 2009-10. Meals and on-campus housing boosts
that total to $10,123 a year. Out-of-state students who live
and eat on campus will pay $20,972 a year.
Chancellor Ken Peacock said the Board of Governors would likely
accept the request, and UNC President Erskine Bowles told Peacock
it was at the “lower end” of what other universities
were requesting. Peacock said he didn’t like the increases
but the university needed them to continue serving students
and he could support the recommendation.
The Board of Trustees approved the establishment of the Appalachian
Research Institute for Environment, Energy and Economics. The
move is designed to integrate the university’s various
efforts in sustainable technology and renewable energy into
one entity that will help secure funding and represent the university’s
work across various disciplines.
The institute could put the university in better position to
draw outside funding for research and equipment and allow for
easier collaboration between different departments and programs.
The institute is not designed to administer new classes or programs,
but rather serve as a clearinghouse and outreach center for
existing programs. The goal is to eventually spread education
to not only the university’s partners, but to public schools
and community colleges as well.
It would also serve as a resource for regional economic-development
agencies, government and businesses interested in “green”
certification and technology.
The university operates award-winning programs in solar and
wind energy in addition to its sustainable agriculture efforts.
The institute will also collaborate with the Institute for Health
and Human Services.
ASU Chief of Staff Lorin Baumhover said the university had 75
faculty members involved in environmental sciences across a
number of departments. “This is becoming a signature set
of programs for Appalachian,” he said.
A 16-member task force crafted the recommendations over two
years, which were approved by the Academic Affairs committee.
The institute will be primarily funded though grants, contracts
and private contributions, with John Pine serving as the inaugural
director.
The institute will require several offices, but most of the
work will remain with the individual professors and departments.
Eventually the institute could need new research space, with
a green-certified building that models sustainable and energy-efficient
design to reflect the institute’s mission and serve as
a “proving ground” for environmental responsibility.
David Nieman, director of ASU’s Health, Leisure and Exercise
Sciences department, said the department has been testing advanced
nutritional supplements as it’s related to physical activity.
Walking boosts immunity but physical stress such as running
a marathon causes susceptibly to virus infection.
He presented results of ASU’s research with quercetin,
a nutritional supplement, in which one study showed a 45 percent
reduction in illness. The tests were done for the military to
assist with combat fatigue. Nieman said quercetin was shown
to be an effective antiviral agent. It could also be stockpiled
in the event of a flu threat, Nieman said.
Quercetin is a molecule naturally occurring in apples, blueberries
and green onions, he said, and, as a powdered supplement, it
increased treadmill performance in out-of-shape test subjects.
It also boosted the amount of skeletal muscle and reduced cholesterol
and blood pressure.
“Quercetin is like an exercise pill,” he said. “Quercetin
actually gives you half the exercise (benefits) that training
will give you.”
Nieman said long-term studies show that people who eat lots
of apples, onions and berries had lower rates of cancer.
The research will continue through ASU’s alliance with
the N.C. State University Plant for Human Health Institute and
Dole Nutrition Institute.
Lovins gave an update on the campus master plan, which will
be released next March. The College of Education ground-breaking
ceremony was held Thursday and will be complete in 2011. Renovation
is ongoing on Frank Residence Hall and Wellborn Dining Hall.
Expansion of Kidd Brewer stadium and the addition of more than
4,000 seats is expected to be completed in the summer.
Peacock said a 16-percent reduction in private donations to
the university was a “dark cloud” and the economic
climate created challenges. “It’s the thing on the
top of our minds for all of us,” Peacock said.
He said despite the concern, there was still a commitment to
make “Appalachian the best it can be” and serve the
people of North Carolina.
“That’s the commitment that’s going to get us
through this,” he said, noting the ground-breaking of the
new education building was a sign that the university was still
moving forward.
Peacock also thanked board chairman Jim Deal for his service
and Deal was presented with an ASU lamp. Deal said it had been
a privilege to work with the ASU trustees and administration
because of the commitment to improving the education and job
prospects of young people.
The trustees will select a new chair at the next meeting on
March 5, 2009.
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