The president of the
University of
Arizona warned
Thursday that he may
have to cut back on
faculty and offer
fewer classes next
fall because the
Arizona Board of
Regents approved a
tuition increase
that is far smaller
than what the school
sought.
The regents approved
double-digit tuition
increases requested
by Arizona State and
Northern Arizona
universities for new
undergraduate
students but granted
UA an increase of
only 3.7 percent.
The university had
requested an
increase of nearly
10 percent for the
2009-10 school year.
The smaller increase
will mean a
difference of about
$6 million for the
university next
year.
"It is a serious
number. You've got
hundreds and
hundreds of (class)
sections that won't
be offered," UA
President Robert
Shelton said after a
5-4 vote by the
regents. "I don't
understand why the
University of
Arizona was singled
out."
UA students
currently pay about
$5,500 in tuition
and fees per year.
Their rates will
rise to just over
$5,700, making the
university the
cheapest of the
three for incoming
freshmen.
Approving annual
tuition is often
messy and
contentious, but
Thursday's decision
seemed to catch
university officials
off-guard. In past
years, the regents,
who are appointed by
the governor and
oversee the
universities, have
sometimes refused to
give university
presidents the
entire amount
requested. But it's
unusual for them to
alter a proposal as
dramatically as they
did with UA.
Regent Anne
Mariucci, who cast
the swing vote on
granting a smaller
increase for UA,
said she favored the
3.7 percent increase
for in-state
students because of
"structural
constraints" that
have stood in the
way of change at the
university. She
declined to give
specifics, except to
say that she favors
a cost structure
that allows students
who use the "costly
resources" at a
university to pay
for them.
"The other two
universities have
had a bigger head
start and have run
the ball farther
down the field of
change than the UofA,
and I'd like to see
the UofA catch up,"
she said after the
meeting.
Shelton said he
doesn't understand
her concerns, noting
that the university
is undergoing a
transformation
process that is
looking at the
institution's
structure and
operations.
"We feel the sense
of urgency that
everyone does," he
said. "You'd have to
be an insensitive
rock not to get the
fact that we're
undergoing change."
Although UA failed
to get its tuition
request, ASU
President Michael
Crow and NAU
President John
Haeger got their
proposals approved
by votes of 8-1 and
7-2, respectively.
Tuition and fees at
both universities
will cross the
$6,000 mark for the
first time next
fall.
New undergraduate
students at ASU will
pay $6,250, or 10
percent more. NAU
will charge nearly
14 percent more, at
$6,205.
Current ASU and NAU
students will get a
break, though,
because both
universities offer a
guaranteed-tuition
plan designed to
give families
predictability over
costs. Current
students at ASU's
Tempe campus will
pay 5 percent more,
at $5,569. NAU
students will pay 3
percent more, at
$5,700.
UA does not offer
guaranteed tuition,
so current students
are subject to the
same increases as
new students.
Graduate and
out-of-state
students have higher
tuition rates.
Prices for students
who attend satellite
campuses are also
different.
Even with the
increases, the three
state universities
are below the
national average of
$6,585 for public,
four-year
universities,
according to the
College Board, an
organization that
tracks tuition
costs.
Not all members of
the state Board of
Regents agreed with
the double-digit
increases at ASU and
NAU. Regent Dennis
DeConcini proposed a
cost-of-living
increase of 3.7
percent at all three
state universities,
citing the
struggling economy.
He urged the
universities to
"live like the rest
of America is, with
merely an inflation
increase" for one
year.
DeConcini, who is
from Tucson, said he
was disappointed the
regents chose to
apply the 3.7
percent increase
only to UA.
Regents President
Fred Boice, who
voted against the
3.7 percent increase
at all three
universities,
questioned why two
university
presidents got the
tuition rates they
requested while UA
did not.
"I must say, fellow
regents, I'm
appalled. How can
you do that?" he
asked.
While prices are
going up at
different rates,
depending on the
university, one
bright spot exists.
The universities may
have more money
available next year
for financial aid.
Regent Ernie
Calderon spearheaded
a change, approved
by the regents, that
will require
universities to
earmark at least 17
percent of resident,
undergraduate
tuition for
financial aid, up
from the minimum
requirement of 15
percent now.
