STUDENT RIGHTS

STUDENT RIGHTS

About Student Rights

Student rights are crucial for fostering an environment of academic freedom and personal development. These rights protect students’ ability to express themselves freely, ensuring that diverse opinions and ideas can thrive in academic settings. They also include the right to privacy, safeguarding personal information and upholding the integrity of student records. By understanding their rights, students can advocate for fair treatment and due process in academic and disciplinary matters. Overall, recognizing and respecting student rights is essential for cultivating a just, equitable, and supportive educational environment.

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Students with physical/mobility disabilities who have concerns about the accessibility of their classes should contact the Department of Disability Services while they are planning their course schedule.

The staff of Disability Services will request that the University Scheduling Office move a course to a more accessible location or work with the instructional department to make other reasonable accommodations.

Note: Courses are assigned to rooms before students register for classes.

Information compiled under the Federal Equity in Athletics Disclosure Act is available on request from the Business Office of the Department of Athletics

The University’s Policy on Prohibited Discrimination, Harassment, and Related Misconduct prohibits all forms of discrimination and harassment based on the following protected statuses:

  • Age
  • Color
  • Disability
  • Gender
  • Gender Expression
  • Gender Identity
  • Genetic Information
  • National Origin
  • Race
  • Religion
  • Sex
  • Sexual Orientation
  • Veteran Status

For additional information on the protected statuses under this policy.

Please contact the Equal Opportunity and Compliance Office for more information at eoc@unc.edu or (919) 966-3576.

The Family Educational Rights and Privacy Act (FERPA) gives the right of access to the education records of students attending the University to the students themselves, regardless of age. Even if a student is a minor, parents may not access student education records without consent of the student, or unless an exception to FERPA applies.

Note: University employees in other offices who receive requests for student information from parents call the Office of the University Registrar to verify that the parents are legally qualified to receive the information. Upon request the Office of the University Registrar will send a copy of the imaged form to the requesting department for its files.

If a student is claimed as a dependent on the student’s parent’s federal income tax return, either of the student’s parents may obtain access to the student’s education records without the student’s prior written consent.

To be eligible to receive information under this section, parents must:

Because tax dependency can change from year to year, parents who wish to establish eligibility to receive information from their student’s education records must complete a new certification and submit their most recent federal tax returns each year.

  • When the Office of the University Registrar receives a completed certification and attachment, it images the documents and indexes them so they can be retrieved.

Fall 2019 Update:
Effective Fall 2019, the tuition surcharge has been repealed.  See SB 225 for more information.


Effective Fall 2010, undergraduate students seeking a baccalaureate degree at UNC-Chapel Hill will be subject to a 50 percent tuition surcharge as required by the North Carolina General Statute Section 9.10.(b) § 116-143.7. Session Law 2009-451. Prior to Fall 2010, the surcharge is 25%.

Important: No surcharge will be imposed on any student who exceeds the degree credit hour limits within the equivalent of four academic years of regular term enrollment, or within five years of regular term enrollment in a degree program officially designated by the Board of Governors as a five-year program.
As of Fall 2009, UNC-Chapel Hill has no five-year programs approved by the Board of Governors.

Tuition Surcharge Guidelines

Click the link to learn more about Tuition Surcharge Guidelines (PDF).

Tuition Surcharge Appeal Form

Effective Fall 2019, the tuition surcharge has been repealed.  See SB 225 (PDF) for more information.

Counted Credit Hours

The undergraduate credit hours to be counted for this requirement include:

  1. All regular session degree-creditable courses taken at UNC-Chapel Hill including repeated courses, failed courses, and those dropped after the end of the second week of class
  2. All transfer credit hours accepted by UNC-Chapel Hill

However, the following credit hours shall be excluded from the calculation:

  1. Those earned through the College Board’s Advanced Placement (AP) and College Level Examination Program (CLEP) or similar programs
  2. Those earned through institutional advanced placement, course validation, or any similar procedure for awarding course credit
  3. Those earned through the summer session or degree-credit extension division at Chapel Hill or at another UNC system institution

Students Subject to the Surcharge

The surcharge should be imposed on all counted credit hours in excess of the threshold defined below for each of the following three categories of undergraduates:

  1. For students earning a first baccalaureate degree in a program that requires no more than 128 credit hours, the surcharge shall be applied to all counted credit hours in excess of 140.
  2. For students earning a first baccalaureate degree in a board-approved program that requires more than 128 counted credit hours, the surcharge shall be applied to all credit hours that exceed 110 percent of the credit hours required for the degree. Such programs include those that have been officially designated by the Board of Governors as five-year programs, as well as those involving double majors, or combined bachelor’s/master’s degrees.
  3. For students earning a baccalaureate degree other than their first, the surcharge shall be applied to all counted credit hours that exceed 110 percent of the minimum additional credit hours needed to earn the additional baccalaureate degree.

Waiver Procedure

To request waiver of the tuition surcharge, please complete and submit the Tuition Surcharge Appeal form, including relevant documentation as specified in the Tuition Surcharge Guidelines (PDF) within 30 days of receipt of invoice with the surcharge listed.

Contact Information for Mailing Forms

Please mail completed appeal forms with documentation to:

Office of the University Registrar
Attn: Tuition Surcharge Appeal
3100 SASB North
Campus Box 2100
Chapel Hill, NC 27599-2100

Check out the Guaranteed Tuition page for a complete description of this policy.

The University of North Carolina at Chapel Hill is committed to equality of opportunity and does not discriminate against applicants, students, or employees based on:

  • Race
  • Color
  • National Origin
  • Religion
  • Sex
  • Sexual Orientation
  • Age
  • Disability
  • Veteran Status
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