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CHAPEL HILL -- Many UNC Chapel Hill students feel they're losing their rights to an affordable education.

Record high budget cuts force school leaders to push forward a tuition proposal that more than doubles the 6.5 percent cap on yearly tuition increases. UNC feels it's crucial to utilize its one time option to go above the cap to "catch up" to public peer institutions.

"To retain faculty and to add sections so that students can get their classes and graduate," said Chancellor Holden Thorp explaining the need for the increase.

After listening to Thorp, hearing a tuition proposal from Vice Chancellor Bruce Carney, a separate proposal from student government president Mary Cooper and outcries from more than a dozen students, the Tuition and Fee Advisory Task Force voted to move forward with Carney's proposal.

The plan would implement a $2,800 tuition increase over the next five years. In-state students would face an $800 increase next school year and a $583 increase over each of the next four years.

"My office is to blame for these proposed tuition increases. I accept that,” said Carney. “But I am only responding to a bad economy that has driven the legislator to make pretty hard decisions themselves."

Some outraged students feel the increase will price some tar heels out of an education and reduce diversity on campus.

"People in our friend group and that we knew who were unable to continue their education after last year's tuition increase and the same for the year before," said UNC senior Eric Bost.

Carney said the university has cut faculty and significantly reduced course offerings over the past few years and something must be done to maintain the same quality of education on campus.

"We're going to try to demonstrate to our faculty that we're vitally concerned with holding onto them here,” Carney explained. “That we will try to provide a decent pay raise this year."

If approved, the tuition increase would produce about $15 million for UNC next year. The proposal would raise tuition to more than $5,900 for in-state under grads, more than $26,000 for out-of-state students and more than $31,000 combined for in and out of state grad students.

The proposal must still get approval from Chancellor Thorp. His recommendation goes to the Board of Trustees, who will submit UNC's final proposal to the Board of Governors for approval.

The board plans to vote on the proposal in February.