North Carolina has a rich, extensive and varied array of higher education institutions. There are 16 branches of the state university, 36 independent colleges and universities and 57 community colleges. That is a lot of higher education for one state. It should come as no surprise to you that we who educate young people - at any of these institutions - recognize the life-changing value that higher education brings to the fortunate students who graduate from our institutions.

Shortly after you announced your candidacy for the presidency, you made a public appearance at a high school in Raleigh, N.C., where you endorsed proposals to use federal money to pay tuition for first-year students at public colleges. As you would expect, we applaud that stance. After all, even though not every high school graduate should attend college, every one of them should have the chance to do so. The experience of a year in the higher education world would introduce many talented, bright young people to a world they might have considered unattainable … it would allow them to glimpse their own potential.

However (and it's a large "however"), I respectfully submit that you are stopping at least one step short. Obviously, this ambitious plan carries a huge price tag. It will be very difficult to identify sources of revenue for such a program. But then, I am sure you have considered this. Let's go beyond the matter of cost.

You are endorsing proposals to finance a year's tuition at PUBLIC colleges and universities. I must ask: Why? Why just public institutions. If the college experience is a leveling step, allowing young people from less affluent, less college-oriented circumstances to sample success after high school, why must that success be realized only at public institutions?

There are many reasons why private/independent schools may provide a better "fit" for some students than public schools do. Some of those reasons, such as our significantly smaller class sizes, make us even better suited for the kind of student you are seeking to help. Different students learn in different ways, thrive in different settings.

Picture yourself as one of those high school graduates who cannot afford to go to college without federal assistance. Would you do better stepping into a freshman English class with 300 other students, or into an English class with a professor (not a teaching assistant) and 15 other students … as you could at Greensboro College and the other private colleges/universities in this state?

Independent colleges and universities around the country are known for truly personal, almost customized teaching. I submit that such is exactly what new students need in order to flourish.

Is price a factor? Do you think that one year here would lead only to three unaffordable years? It's amazing but true that over 92 percent of our students receive financial aid. Indeed, the average package for our latest entering class at Greensboro College is in excess of $11,000 annually.

Our request: As you formulate your positions now and in the future, please consider adding private colleges and universities to public schools as options for first-year tuition proposals. Doing so would vastly

• broaden the geographic and academic-program choices of our high school graduates;
• offer them different kinds of learning experiences to accommodate their different learning styles;
• lessen the overcrowding in our fine public institutions; and
• ensure parity in the apportionment of tax dollars spent on education.

Thank you for your consideration.