University of North Carolina Expands Financial Aid After Supreme Court Affirmative Action Loss

The University of North Carolina at Chapel Hill said Friday it will provide free tuition for more low- and middle-income families.

UCN's announcement in Chapell Hill comes more than a week after Supreme Court to strike down affirmative action based on race in the process of admission to the state's flagship school.

UNC-Chapel Hill was one of two universities that defended racially conscious admissions in the US high court, the other being Harvard University.

The Supreme Court ruled that the lawsuits at the two schools violated guarantees of equal protection under the Constitution, a landmark decision that will affect both for colleges and universities across the country as well as low-income and minority students.

The university institution announced it will offer free tuition to in-state students whose families earn less than $80,000 a year, university president Kevin Guskiewicz said in a statement.

“We want to make sure students know that financial constraints should not get in the way of their dreams,” the chancellor wrote. “Our responsibility to comply with the law does not mean we will abandon our core values ​​as a university,” he added.

The new measure will come into force for students who start the course in 2024, according to the statement.

In the North Carolina case, the prosecution argued that the admissions policy discriminated against white and Asian candidates versus African-Americans, Hispanics, and Native Americans.

Since 1978, the Supreme Court had protected the right of universities to consider race as a factor in the admissions process, albeit in a limited way.

The Supreme Court ruling did not place any restrictions on racially neutral financial aid.