The University of North Carolina system will study in-state tuition for illegal immigrants.

At a meeting of the UNC Tomorrow Commission today, system president Erskine Bowles said that it will study the issue extensively before making a decision, Kristin Collins reports.

A recent decision to require community colleges to admit illegal immigrants has proved contentious.

Neither Bowles nor the commission advocated for or against offering in-state tuition to illegal immigrants. Under guidelines adopted in 2004, illegal immigrants can attend if they pay out-of state rates, which range from $10,000 to $20,000, compared to $1,500 to $3,700 for in-state students.

"We can't stick our heads in the sand," Bowles said. "These people are here, and we have to deal with it. The last thing in the world we want to do is create another permanent underclass."

It looks like Beverly Perdue is not the only one who might lose a spelling bee.

The Scholar's Council of the University of North Carolina's UNC Tomorrow Commission put out a report on economic and workforce trends. Its subtitle:

"Implications for our State and the Unversity of North Carolina."

Unversity, eh? Is that like the Uncola?

Full Disclosure: Dome has lost spelling bees on the words soliloquy, kyphosis and accommodating.

The UNC Tomorrow Commission wants to hear from you.

The panel will hold a community listening forum Oct. 10 at 4 p.m. at the McKimmon Center at N.C. State University.

The commission was established by UNC President Erskine Bowles and the UNC Board of Governors to come up with ideas for how the university system can serve the future needs of North Carolina, Jane Stancill reports.

The commission is asking the following questions:

* What are the most important challenges facing your community and how can universities help?

* What programs and services should the universities offer and how can the universities better serve you?

* What knowledge and skills do our students need to be prepared for the jobs of tomorrow?

* How can the universities help improve economic opportunities in your area?

A new report says North Carolina needs more highly educated, skilled workers than the state's higher education system can provide.

That was one of the primary findings of a report today to the group setting a future course for the UNC system, reports Jane Stancill.

The UNC Tomorrow Commission heard a flurry of daunting statistics about the state's economic and demographic changes.

By 2014, North Carolina will need 400,000 new workers with bachelor's degrees. But the state's public and private colleges are expected to produce only 254,000 of these workers. Colleges would have to produce more than 15,000 more graduates each year to fill the gap.

"The sheer volume of that left me breathless," said Hanna Gage, a member of the UNC Board of Governors.