Editing University of North Carolina (section)

== Legal mandate ==
[[File:UNCCNewQuad.jpg|thumb|right|[[University of North Carolina at Charlotte|UNC Charlotte]]. The university expanded significantly in the 1960s and 1970s.]]
The legal authority and mandate for the University of North Carolina is contained in the [[North Carolina Constitution|State's first Constitution]] (1776),<ref>{{cite web|url=http://avalon.law.yale.edu/18th_century/nc07.asp|title=Constitution of North Carolina: December 18, 1776|website=avalon.law.yale.edu|date=18 December 1998 |access-date=December 21, 2019}}</ref> which provided in Article XLI
<blockquote>That a school or schools shall be established by the Legislature, for the convenient instruction of youth, ... and all useful learning shall be duly encouraged, and promoted, in one or more universities,</blockquote>
The [[North Carolina General Assembly|state legislature]] granted a charter and funding for the university in 1789.<ref>{{cite web|url=http://www.unc.edu/about/|title=About the University|publisher=University of North Carolina at Chapel Hill|website=unc.edu|access-date=December 21, 2019}}</ref>

Article IX of the [[North Carolina Constitution#1971 Constitution|1971 North Carolina Constitution]] deals with all forms of public education in the state. Sections 8 and 9 of that article address higher education.<ref name="NC Constitution">{{cite web| title = Article IX| work = North Carolina Constitution| publisher = North Carolina General Assembly| year = 2006| url = http://www.ncga.state.nc.us/Legislation/constitution/article9.html| access-date = 2008-06-09| archive-url = https://web.archive.org/web/20080901204859/http://www.ncga.state.nc.us/Legislation/constitution/article9.html| archive-date = 2008-09-01| url-status = dead}}</ref>
* Sec. 8. Higher education.
<blockquote>The General Assembly shall maintain a public system of higher education, comprising The University of North Carolina and such other institutions of higher education as the General Assembly may deem wise. The General Assembly shall provide for the selection of trustees of The University of North Carolina and of the other institutions of higher education, in whom shall be vested all the privileges, rights, franchises, and endowments heretofore granted to or conferred upon the trustees of these institutions. The General Assembly may enact laws necessary and expedient for the maintenance and management of The University of North Carolina and the other public institutions of higher education.</blockquote>

* Sec. 9. Benefits of public institutions of higher education.
<blockquote>The General Assembly shall provide that the benefits of The University of North Carolina and other public institutions of higher education, as far as practicable, be extended to the people of the State free of expense.</blockquote>

Statutory provisions stipulate the current function and cost to students of the University of North Carolina.<ref name="chapter116">{{cite web| title = Chapter 116 – Higher Education| work = North Carolina General Statutes | publisher = North Carolina General Assembly| year = 2006 | url = http://www.ncga.state.nc.us/enactedlegislation/statutes/html/bychapter/chapter_116.html | access-date = 2008-03-29}}</ref>