North Carolina’s innovative research campus is back on its feet after months of hiring freezes and budget cuts.

The extended winter season and high amounts of snow this year have affected the state in several ways, for better or for worse.

State departments reported losses of money, time and agricultural production because of the weather.

Clearing roads costs money

UNC-system President Erskine Bowles has had numerous North Carolinians try to tell him how to do his job since he took office in 2006.

Now that he’s stepping down, those people will have their chance to shape who his successor will be.

Duke University’s Board of Trustees announced Saturday a 3.9 percent undergraduate tuition increase for the 2010-11 school year. This tuition increase brings the total yearly cost to$51,865 for Duke undergraduate students.

RALEIGH — Hundreds of people gathered at Shaw University on Saturday, chanting and singing hymns to promote education reform for the state.

The Historic Thousands on Jones Street event, also known as HK on J, is an annual march to the state legislature led by the N.C. NAACP to present its 14-point agenda.

This year, the crowd focused on education reform and protested against the resegregation of public schools.

Several states are opening up new options to high school students who want to graduate early.

The National Center on Education and the Economy is starting a pilot program in eight states that will allow high school students to graduate after their sophomore year and enroll in community college.

The Association of Student Governments is meeting in Greensboro this weekend to continue its discussion on tuition.

At the UNC-system Board of the Governors meeting in February, ASG presented 20,000 student signatures petitioning against the state-mandated tuition increase instituted by the N.C. General Assembly last summer.

Two North Carolina universities are launching programs that will help students earn their undergraduate degrees in three years.

UNC-Greensboro and Mount Olive College officials said the  programs will help students save money and get an early start on their plans for graduate school.

UNC students are partnering with the U.S. Census Bureau to encourage their peers to participate in the 2010 U.S. Census.

Populations that move frequently tend to have low response rates on census forms. College students, who often change residences every year, fall into this category.

The UNC system is taking another step to strengthen its ties with the military.

UNC-system President Erskine Bowles will sign an agreement with the U.S. Marines Corps Forces Special Operations Command and Marine Corps Installations East today to cement a partnership between the two groups.

An important source of student aid money could run out in as little as three years if legislators can’t find a way to halt its rapid depletion.

Escheat money, which is handed over to the state government when private property goes unclaimed, has been spent faster than it has been replaced in recent years.

For several years now, high school seniors applying to universities haven’t just had to worry about perfecting their college essays and transcript, but also editing their Facebook profiles and security settings.

Admission officers at some universities such as N.C. State University said they are using social networking sites to further evaluate prospective students.

The woman who falsely accused several Duke University lacrosse players of rape in 2006 was arrested early Thursday for attempting to kill her boyfriend, Durham police said.

Police said Crystal Gail Mangum, 33, set her boyfriend’s clothing on fire and tried to stab him. She then tried to set another fire after police arrived, police said.

Mangum’s bond is set at $1 million.