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Task Force Will Consider Changes To Funding Model For UNC Campuses

(Photo Credit: Jon Gardiner/UNC-Chapel Hill)

Some schools in the UNC system could see changes in funding next fiscal year. University leaders have created a task force to re-evaluate how it distributes state dollars to its 17 public campuses.

The UNC system receives around $2.8 billion from the state to divvy up among its campuses.

But some schools say they're underfunded because the distribution model isn't fair. It uses several factors including enrollment and student credit hours taken at a given university.

UNC system president Margaret Spellings has launched a task force to study the issue. It includes representatives from the campuses and financial experts like Scott Lampe. He's the chief financial officer for Hendrick Motorsports and a member of the Board of Governors. Lampe says some degrees cost more to deliver, and that's something they will discuss.

“One of the things you want to look at is what are the degrees we are producing across the system and are we funding those accurately and fairly, so that a physics student in Greensboro, or Asheville, or Charlotte or Chapel Hill has equitable funding across the system,” says Lampe.

He says the group will also look at higher education trends and what other states are doing.

The Funding Model Task Force will have its first meeting on June 26th. Members will create recommendations for the Board of Governors, who will have the final approval on any funding changes at UNC campuses.

*Follow WFDD's Keri Brown on Twitter @kerib_news

Keri Brown is a multi-award winning reporter and host at 88.5 WFDD. She has been honored with two regional Edward R. Murrow awards for her stories about coal ash, and was named the 2015 radio reporter of the year by the Radio Television Digital News Association of the Carolinas (RTDNAC).Although she covers a variety of topics, her beats are environmental and education reporting.Keri comes to the Triad from West Virginia Public Broadcasting, where she served as the Chief Bureau Reporter for the Northern Panhandle. She produced stories for the state's Public Television and Radio programs and was honored by the West Virginia Associated Press Broadcasters Association for her feature and enterprise reporting.She also served as an adjunct instructor at Wheeling Jesuit University and Bethany College in West Virginia. She worked with the Center for Educational Technologies in Wheeling, WV, and other NASA centers across the country to develop several stories about the use of science, technology, engineering, and math (STEM) concepts in the classroom.Keri's journalism career began at WTRF-TV 7 in Wheeling. She worked in several roles at the station, including the head assignment editor. She also was a field producer and assignment manager at WPGH-TV Fox 53 in Pittsburgh.Keri is a graduate of Ohio University. When she's not in the studio or working on a story, she enjoys watching college football with her family, cooking, and traveling.Keri is always looking for another great story idea, so please share them with her. You can follow her on Twitter @kerib_news.

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