The Blue Banner

It always seems the little guy receives the last bit of everything. In a world where "money talks" and "size matters," the struggle for smaller universities to survive only seems to amplify this notion. Although UNC Asheville is a lasting institution, compared to other universities in the UNC system, UNCA gets the scraps.

According to the N.C. House's 2007 appropriations budget, UNCA received $33,646,627. In comparison, UNC Chapel Hill received $492,471,033. The only two universities who receive less funding than UNCA are Elizabeth City State University and N.C. School of the Arts. Although UNC Chapel Hill has graduate programs, a successful athletics department and a major regional hospital, when returning to the basics, all universities have professors who want to teach and students who want to learn.

In the news section this week, we featured a story about professors and the unproportionally low salaries they receive. While the average full-time professor at UNCA makes $77,900 annually, professors at other institutions make about $88,113. To give a face to these numbers, the psychology department chair at UNCA makes $64,825, while the same position at Western Carolina University makes $79,578. UNCA's psychology department has 181 students while WCU has 117.

The picture grows dimmer for associate professors. At UNCA, they receive a salary of about $59,500. Associate professors make on average $69,247. Peer institutions give, on average, $8,000 more to them.

Why is this so? We're told that UNCA is a jewel in the UNC system, but why does the university receive significantly less than others?

In order to decrease the gap, the university might have to increase tuition. Considering our state funding, the university will have to make cuts in staff salaries and other important parts of the budget or increase tuition. Students will probably not protest against saving a couple hundred dollars, but in order to sustain successful academic programs, the burden left by the states' underfunding will have to be shared by students.

Underpaid faculty is just one of the many problems the university faces because of the lack of funding. Right now we have a brand new science building with no desks or science equipment.

Logically, this means students will have to loosen their purses a little and let tuition increases occur. While the words "tuition" and "increase" send a chill down people's spines, UNCA is still one of the cheapest public liberal arts universities to attend. Tuition costs for a full-time, in-state undergraduate students is $2,082. At WCU, the same student pays $2,435. In order to attract talented professors and to keep the ones we already have, the university must take measures to offer enticing salaries and students must understand this fact. We are not saying the university should have a field day and double tuition, but merely to show professors they are appreciated and provide them with a means of living.

Aside from raising tuition, the university could lobby the UNC system for more funds. If we are really something to be proud of and treasured, then the university system should make ways to keep UNCA well funded for years to come.

So, what does this all mean for students? Get involved with the university and how it uses its funds. Attend campus commission meetings as well as tuition meetings. Write letters to the UNC system. Demand equal treatment in funding. Let Erskine Bowls know that we're the designated liberal arts school, and we're slowly starving to death.

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