With tuition growing, students who use scholarships to pay for their college expenses are increasingly worried their awards will no longer cover them.

Incoming freshmen who receive financial assistance from the University through academic and need-based scholarships have the amount of their awards locked in their first year, and the amount generally remains the same throughout the student’s four years.

But with tuition increases occurring regularly, some students are finding their scholarships are no longer enough.

Journalism sophomore Erika Baggs was one of 1,034 freshmen who received the Provost’s Scholarship in fall 2007.

The yearly amount of the scholarship was $6,500, which Baggs said covered the full cost of her tuition and books.

After this semester’s tuition increases, though, more of her scholarship money went toward paying for tuition, and Baggs was forced to reach into her own pocket to cover her other expenses.

“ASU is shorting us,” she said. “If they don’t raise the scholarships, they should at least keep our tuition the same.”

According to the University Office of Institutional Analysis, which releases yearly statistics on enrollment and tuition rates, since fall 2005 the cost of tuition and fees for in-state and out-of-state students has increased $1,255 and $2,854, respectively.

Students who received scholarships designed to cover the full cost of tuition in 2005 have had to find alternative means to make up the difference.

Craig Fennell, director of Student Financial Assistance for the University, said while the scholarship office does not normally adjust scholarship amounts for students, those unhappy with their merit-based scholarships are free to apply for need-based aid.

“We handle appeals for need-based scholarships throughout the year,” Fennell said.

Students looking for additional aid should fill out a Free Application for Federal Student Aid form, Fennell said. The financial aid office can determine whether a student is eligible to receive additional financial help from its results.

“We have a lot of leeway working with students in that regard,” Fennell said.

Baggs said she also thought it was unfair that incoming freshmen often receive a higher award than upperclassmen, though they have the same scholarship.

“I don’t understand how they can give freshmen more money than their current students,” she said.

According to the ASU Web site, the amount of the Provost’s Scholarship was raised to $7,500 for this semester’s incoming freshmen, a $1,000 difference from the amount Baggs receives.

“They need to take care of the older kids first. Don’t leave us out in the cold,” Baggs said.

Economics sophomore Karla Lukic, whose AIMS Scholarship also no longer covers the cost of her tuition, said ASU should be more truthful to students on scholarship.

“If students are told they don’t have to pay for tuition, they shouldn’t have to pay for tuition,” Lukic said.

Fennell said he can understand the students’ frustrations.

“It’s certainly a point worth discussing,” he said. “But is it unusual for freshmen to get higher awards than upperclassmen? No.”

Fennell said that although new students may receive a higher award amount for their scholarships, they will also pay more throughout their four years than students who came before them.

“All students are on a fairly level playing field in that regard,” Fennell said. “Maybe not exactly the same but close.”

Flat scholarship offers are the status quo among mainstream American universities, according to scholarship offices’ responses to questions from The State Press. The responses were collected by Amy Weinstein, executive director of the National Scholarship Providers Association.

“[Offering indexed scholarships] is not only unorthodox but would cost more,” a representative of the University of Texas scholarship office said in an e-mail provided by Weinstein. “It would assist fewer students overall and would be an administrative nightmare to track multiple cohorts over various degree plans and costs.”

Reach the reporter at zachary.fowle@asu.edu.