N.C. Central University is dipping deeper into its endowment than is customary to help its cash-strapped students cope with the rising cost of college.
The university will spend about 8.5 percent of its $19 million endowment next year, a jump from the standard 5.5 percent it usually takes each year. Doing so will yield an extra $142,000 that the university will use for scholarships.
(image courtesy citytown.com)
At a university where more than 90 percent of students receive financial aid, the extra money is expected to benefit 142 students who will receive grants of $1,000 each.
A committee of the university's trustee board approved the unusual move Tuesday, and the full board will likely give its blessing Wednesday.
NCCU and most universities generally take 5 or 5.5 percent of its endowment each year, based on a three-year rolling average, for scholarships and other uses. But mounting budget cuts and rising college costs prompted the move, officials said Tuesday during meetings of the university's board of trustees.
Read Wednesday's News & Observer for more.
