Global Courant
UNC was one of two institutions at the center of the affirmative action case.
The University of North Carolina Chapel Hill announced it would provide free tuition and fees to students from North Carolina families earning less than $80,000 a year.
Free tuition fees will be offered from the incoming bachelor class of 2024.
The announcement comes a week after the U.S. Supreme Court set new limits on affirmative action, a policy in which universities took a student’s race or ethnicity into account during the admissions process. The policy was part of an effort to diversify college campuses.
People walk on June 29, 2023 on the campus of the University of North Carolina Chapel Hill in Chapel Hill, NC
Eros Hoagland/Getty Images
The Supreme Court ruled that Harvard University and UNC violated the Equal Protection Clause of the Fourteenth Amendment through their race-conscious admissions programs. The two universities had been sued by a conservative group called Students for Fair Admissions, which alleged that the universities had deliberately discriminated against Asian-American applicants.
UNC said the decision preventing universities from considering race when making admissions decisions is a “fundamental change” in the law governing the admissions process for UNC and thousands of other universities.
“Our responsibility to comply with the law does not mean that we give up our fundamental values as a university. We are and remain passionately public and we will ensure that every student who earns admission to Carolina can come here and thrive. The commitment Our university’s access and affordability and supporting a culture of belonging for all does not change with last week’s ruling,” UNC Chancellor Kevin Guskiewicz said in a statement.
People walk on June 29, 2023 on the campus of the University of North Carolina Chapel Hill in Chapel Hill, NC
Eros Hoagland/Getty Images
“We want to make sure students know that financial constraints shouldn’t get in the way of their dreams,” Guskiewicz said.
The university also announced that it has hired additional outreach staff for its admissions team to broaden access to prospective students.
“They serve in under-resourced communities to spread awareness of our affordability and recruit students from across the state. We want the best students to know that a UNC-Chapel Hill education is an opportunity for them,” said Guskiewicz.
