Champions of the Carolina Covenant reflect on its start
In its 20th year, they recall the boldness of the plan to help low-income students graduate from Carolina debt-free.
It was a simple but bold idea, expansive in scope and backed by virtually universal support: UNC-Chapel Hill should provide students from lower-income families with a realistic path to graduate from Carolina debt-free.
Under the guidance of James Moeser, Carolina’s chancellor (2000-08), and Shirley Ort, former director of the office of scholarships and student aid, the Carolina Covenant went from that original idea to a model program replicated by dozens of colleges and universities, shaping the college experience for thousands of students at Carolina and throughout the country.
In 2024, the Covenant is celebrating 20 years of service to Carolina students. The groundbreaking program combines state and federal grants, work-study opportunities and privately supported scholarships to help students pay for undergraduate tuition and expenses.
“The Carolina Covenant upholds a core value for the University. The promise of an affordable education ensures that we remain proudly public, genuinely open to talented students of all backgrounds and income levels,” said Ort. “I think that’s central to our character, to what makes Carolina such a vibrant and inspiring place.”
The Carolina Covenant was her opportunity to make sure prospective students felt encouraged to apply to Carolina, backed with the added assurance that once they earned their admission, the University would help them find a way to fund a top-tier education. Since 2004, the Covenant has given over 11,000 students the peace of mind to attend college while avoiding financial burden.
Shirley Ort’s personal experience paying for college helped inspire the creation of the Carolina Covenant. (UNC-Chapel Hill)
From idea to inception
The idea, then dubbed the “Carolina Compact,” first appeared in 2001.
It emerged from a period of rapidly rising costs for higher education. Ort said tuition at UNC-Chapel Hill doubled in the years leading up to the Covenant, and the administration worried about students self-excluding themselves from Carolina due to financial fears.
At the time, it was financially impossible to provide an entirely debt-free education to Carolina’s low-income students. But with increases in state and federal funding over the next two years, the “Compact” became more and more of a possibility for Carolina’s students.
Discussions began among top Carolina administrators including Ort; Jerry Lucido, then associate provost for undergraduate admissions; and then-Provost Robert Shelton before the idea was presented to Chancellor Moeser in 2003.
The first iteration of the Covenant promised all students admitted to Carolina that if their family income was at or below 150% of the federal poverty level they could graduate with zero debt.
Moeser approved the program with one change. He suggested changing the name from Compact to Covenant, a switch meant to convey how seriously the University took this promise.
“We had the audacity to think we could do it,” said Moeser, who announced the plan on Oct. 12, 2003, at his annual State of the University address.
At a politically divisive time, reaction to Moeser’s announcement was overwhelmingly positive, as documented in his archived papers at Wilson Library:
- “James – BRAVO for helping low-income students get Chapel Hill’s great education!”
- “I think this is an amazing, gutsy and principled thing to do. Please send me information on how to donate money to support this program.”
- “Congratulations on the success of your Carolina Covenant program. This is a superb effort on the part of the university, which I know will pay huge dividends.”
Universities across the country, including the University of Virginia and the University of Nebraska, followed Carolina’s model of need-blind admissions with robust financial support for lower-income students and families, reported The New York Times in 2004.
“I just thought that would be a beautiful thing to do,” Moeser said.
