A fund for fast-growing colleges could be cut.

Since the late 1990s, the University of North Carolina system has built up a reserve fund for state universities that were growing at a rapid rate.

That included the five historically black colleges, Elizabeth City State University, N.C. A&T, N.C. Central, Fayetteville State and Winston-Salem State. Two others, UNC-Pembroke and Western Carolina, were also helped. 

"All had the capacity to grow at a rate greater then they would naturally," said UNC spokesman Rob Nelson. "The money was appropriated to accommodate the administrative costs of that — to help with infrastructure, administration and financial aid."

In all, Nelson said the fund had provided $30 million for the seven schools.

Gov. Beverly Perdue proposed cutting the annual $1.3 million appropriation in order to help balance next year's budget. 

Rep. Bill Owens says Elizabeth City State University should change its name.

The Pasquotank Democrat argued that the historically black college founded in 1891 would have better name recognition and get more funding if it had a different name, The Daily Advance reports.

He said the new name should show it is part of the University of North Carolina system. 

Thirteen years ago, Owens sponsored a bill changing Pembroke State University to UNC-Pembroke. Since then, he said the university's population has more than doubled, while Elizabeth City's population has only gone up by 50 percent.

"There are a lot of things to be proud of, but we need to be all that we can be here at this university," he said.

He noted that the school is now on its fourth name. 

Fill in the blank: A visit from Bill Clinton is like ...

If you wrote "Klan shootout," you must live in Pembroke.

Here's the bizarro metaphor of the week, from a story in the Fayetteville Observer about Bill Clinton's scheduled stop at UNC-Pembroke Friday:

Charles Locklear dined on fried chicken and cabbage as he talked about former President Clinton’s visit. He said it will be a good thing for the town.

"This will kind of put us on the map like back in the '50s when we had the Ku Klux Klan shoot out. We might be back on the front page again," he said.

Mr. Locklear, that's the Secret Service at your front door. Better go answer.

Hat Tip: Gregory Phillips 

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)

Forget about U.S. News & World Report's college rankings for a moment.

For those in North Carolina's higher education system, there are two lists that are more important: The Carnegie Foundation for the Advancement of Teaching and the National Center for Higher Education Management Systems.

Both have provided lists of peers for North Carolina colleges that could be used to determine whether professors are getting comparable salaries to their colleagues.

A study by the John William Pope Center for Higher Education Policy*, which used the Carnegie peers, found that some North Carolina schools were doing just fine.

But those same colleges do worse when compared with the National Center's peers.

For a full discussion of the difference, click "Read More."

* Correction: An earlier version of this post misstated the foundation which funded the survey. The analyst works for the John Locke Foundation, but the study was done for the Pope Center.

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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.