§ 116-143.9.  Fixed tuition payment.

(a) There is established the fixed tuition payment program. The rate of tuition of any freshman or transfer undergraduate student who is admitted to any constituent institution of The University of North Carolina and deemed to be a North Carolina resident for purposes of tuition shall be guaranteed as provided by this section. The program shall have the following components:

(1) A guarantee that the rate of tuition approved by either the Board of Governors or the Board of Trustees of the constituent institution will remain constant or decrease during the tuition period.

(2) Except as provided in subsection (b) of this section, the tuition period shall be (i) eight consecutive academic semesters for a student seeking a baccalaureate degree in a four-year program or 10 consecutive academic semesters for a student seeking a baccalaureate degree in a program officially designated by the Board of Governors as a five-year program, not including any summer sessions, or (ii) the appropriate balance of a designated program length after making the proper adjustments for a student who transfers to the constituent institution.

(3) Except as provided in subsection (b) of this section, the student must remain enrolled continuously at the constituent institution during the entire tuition period.

(4) At the end of the tuition period, the cost of tuition for any additional academic semesters reverts to the amount of the current tuition for that constituent institution.

(b) The tuition period may be tolled if the student is able to demonstrate that any of the following have substantially disrupted or interrupted the student's pursuit of a degree: (i) a military service obligation, (ii) serious medical debilitation, (iii) a short-term or long-term disability, or (iv) other extraordinary hardship. The Board of Governors shall establish the appropriate procedures to implement this subsection.

(c) The Board of Governors shall adopt the policies needed to implement this section and shall also determine what the fixed tuition rates and the tuition periods shall be for undergraduate transfer students who are North Carolina residents for purposes of tuition. (2016-94, s. 11.4(a); 2019-68, s. 2.)