After Supreme Court decision, university to offer free tuition to some in-state students

The University of North Carolina at Chapel Hill will offer free tuition to some students in order to expand diversity efforts following last week's Supreme Court decision striking down affirmative action in college admissions, the school announced Friday.

Beginning with the incoming class in 2024, free tuition and required fees will be provided to undergraduates from North Carolina whose families make less than $80,000 annually, Chancellor Kevin Guskiewicz said in a message to campus. The school has also hired additional outreach officers to spread awareness of the new policy in under-resourced communities and to recruit students from across the state.

“We want to make sure students know financial constraints should not stand in the way of their dreams,” Guskiewicz said.

Those who apply in the upcoming admissions cycle will be the first group to do so after the Supreme Court held that race cannot be a factor in college admissions, news outlets reported. The ruling forces institutions of higher education to look for new ways to achieve diverse student bodies.

Tuition and fees for fulltime in-state students in the 2023 academic year add up to about $9,000, news outlets reported.