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在校园里

《博彩平台》的拥护者回顾了它的开始

第20个年头, they recall the boldness of the plan to help low-income students graduate from Carolina debt-free.

一群卡罗来纳州的学生, 谁是卡罗莱纳盟约学者, 2004年与财政大臣詹姆斯·莫瑟合影.
Chancellor James Moeser (center) poses with an early class of Carolina Covenant Scholars. (UNC-Chapel山)

这是一个简单而大胆的想法, expansive in scope and backed by virtually universal support: UNC-Chapel Hill should provide students from lower-income families with a realistic path to graduate from Carolina debt-free.

在James Moeser的指导下, 卡罗来纳州州长(2000-08), 和雪莉·奥特, 前奖学金和学生援助办公室主任, the Carolina Covenant went from that original idea to a model program replicated by dozens of colleges and universities, shaping the college experience for thousands of students at Carolina and throughout the country.

In 2024, the Covenant is celebrating 20 years of service to Carolina students. 这个开创性的项目结合了州和联邦的拨款, work-study opportunities and privately supported scholarships to help students pay for undergraduate tuition and expenses.

“卡罗莱纳盟约维护了大学的核心价值. The promise of an affordable education ensures that we remain proudly public, genuinely open to talented students of all backgrounds and income levels,Ort说。. “I think that’s central to our character, to what makes Carolina such a vibrant and inspiring place.”

The Carolina Covenant was her opportunity to make sure prospective students felt encouraged to apply to Carolina, backed with the added assurance that once they earned their admission, the University would help them find a way to fund a top-tier education. 自2004年以来, 《博彩平台》已经给出了11个,000 students the peace of mind to attend college while avoiding financial burden.

雪莉支持

雪莉支持’s personal experience paying for college helped inspire the creation of the Carolina Covenant. (UNC-Chapel山)

从想法到开始

The idea, then dubbed the “Carolina Compact,” first appeared in 2001.

It emerged from a period of rapidly rising costs for higher education. Ort said tuition at UNC-Chapel Hill doubled in the years leading up to the Covenant, and the administration worried about students self-excluding themselves from Carolina due to financial fears.

当时, it was financially impossible to provide an entirely debt-free education to Carolina’s low-income students. But with increases in state and federal funding over the next two years, the “Compact” became more and more of a possibility for Carolina’s students.

Discussions began among top Carolina administrators including Ort; Jerry Lucido, then associate provost for undergraduate admissions; and then-Provost Robert Shelton before the idea was presented to Chancellor Moeser in 2003.

The first iteration of the Covenant promised all students admitted to Carolina that if their family income was at or below 150% of the federal poverty level they could graduate with zero debt.

Moeser只做了一点改变就批准了这个项目. 他建议将“契约”更名为“盟约”, a switch meant to convey how seriously the University took this promise.

“We had the audacity to think we could do it,” said Moeser, who announced the plan on Oct. 2003年12月12日,在大学年度国情咨文演讲中.

在一个政治分裂的时期, 人们对Moeser的声明反应非常积极, 正如他在威尔逊图书馆的档案文件中所记载的那样:

  • “James – BRAVO for helping low-income students get Chapel Hill’s great education!”
  • “我认为这是一件了不起的、勇敢的、有原则的事情. Please send me information on how to donate money to support this program.”
  • 祝贺你们的卡罗莱纳盟约计划的成功. This is a superb effort on the part of the university, which I know will pay huge dividends.”

全国各地的大学, including the University of Virginia and the University of Nebraska, followed Carolina’s model of need-blind admissions with robust financial support for lower-income students and families, 《博彩平台》2004年报道.

“I just thought that would be a beautiful thing to do,” Moeser said.

阅读更多关于卡罗莱纳盟约的起源.