The UNC system could raise minimum standards to a 2.0 GPA and a 700 SAT score by 2009.

The requirements were debated by the UNC Board of Governors Thursday.

The new standards would affect Elizabeth City State, Fayetteville State, N.C. A&T, N.C. Central, Winston-Salem State and UNC-Pembroke, all of which were founded to serve minority students.

The proposal is part of a broader effort to prevent dropouts by only admitting students who are prepared for a four-year college.

"Higher admission standards, we think, are a plus for the university and a plus for the kids," said UNC President Erskine Bowles. (N&O)

Professors at N.C. Central get paid well, but those at UNC-Asheville might want to ask for a raise.

That's according to a study of higher education salaries released today by the John William Pope Center for Higher Education Policy*.

The study found that salaries for all faculty at four state colleges — N.C. Central, UNC-Charlotte, UNC-Pembroke and Winston-Salem State — are at least 80 percent of those at similar colleges.

But some professors at Elizabeth City State and N.C. State and all UNC-Asheville and N.C. A&T faculty were below the mean and median levels of their colleagues at other schools.

Foundation analyst Jon Sanders said he looked at the pay scale in part to see if there is a "brain drain" at state colleges. He said the study alone would not answer the question.

"If there is a brain drain, it's not owing to salaries," he said.

The House budget proposal calls for a 2.5 percent salary increase and a one-time $400 bonus for state college professors.

* Correction: An earlier version of the post misstated the group which funded the survey. Jon Sanders works for the John Locke Foundation, but the study was done for the Pope Center.