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University of North Carolina school system officials have voted to keep tuition rates the same regardless of whether classes move online because of coronavirus concerns.

Thursday’s split vote by the school system’s Board of Governors also keeps the same fees for athletics and student activities, news outlets reported.

“It is important that our universities continue to operate and provide instruction and essential services,” the board’s resolution said. “And the tuition and fees that we collect are important to sustaining this important mission not just for today’s students, but for the students who will attend our institutions in the future.”

The vote comes as the school system continues to prepare for different scenarios for its budget amid the coronavirus pandemic, and as students and staff gear up to return to its campuses this fall, The News & Observer reported.

Board member Marty Kotis pushed back on the measure, saying students would be getting an “inferior experience” if the schools were to move their classes online, according to the newspaper.

“If we have to shift back, we’re almost overcharging them with tuition,” the newspaper quotes Kotis as saying. “Adding fees on top of that is adding insult to injury.”

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