By Gregory Childress

gchildress@heraldsun.com; 419-6645

CHAPEL HILL -- The UNC system is losing its top finance officer.

Rob Nelson, vice president for finance, has announced that he will step down after the board of governors takes action on proposed tuition and fee increases for the 2010-11 academic year.

The board is expected to decide on the tuition and fee proposals for schools in the UNC system at its February meeting.

"Following that meeting, Rob will help us in transitioning his responsibilities to a new chief financial officer who will be in place in time to serve the university during the upcoming legislative session," UNC president Erskine Bowles said in a letter to the board of governors, UNC system chancellors and the General Administration Council.

When reached by e-mail on Wednesday, Nelson said he would discuss his retirement next week.

As chief finance officer, Nelson is responsible for the financial affairs of the UNC systems' 17 campuses and general administration.

According to the UNC Web site, his duties include preparing the university's unified budget requests to the General Assembly, advising and acting for the president in matters of university finance.

He oversees a state operating budget with annual expenditures of more than $8 billion and state appropriations of more than $2.8 billion.

In addition, Nelson is an advocate for legislative support of university programs and initiatives and oversees the issuance of long-term indebtedness for the campuses.

"We will miss the joy he brings to the office and his leadership in so many important matters," Bowles said in the letter. "As the same time, I fully understand his desire to retire and to get home before 7 p.m.

State legislators have set tuition rates for 2010-11 on all campuses at the lesser of $200 or 8 percent for resident and nonresident students. All of the money collected from the state-mandated increase would go into state coffers.

Bowles has recommended that the board ask lawmakers to allow the campuses to keep the tuition increases and use 50 percent of the revenue for need-based financial aid.

The rest would go toward critical campus needs such as improvements in retention and graduation rates .