ASU President Michael Crow has lowered his tuition-increase proposal for resident undergraduates for the 2006-07 school year to 6.5 percent in hopes the state Legislature will provide additional funding for higher education.
Crow presented an 8.5 percent tuition increase to the Arizona Board of Regents at their March meeting. At the same meeting, Undergraduate Student Government proposed a 4.5 percent tuition increase, to account for the rate of inflation plus 1 percent for financial aid.
"This proposal is a compromise," Crow said.
Corrine Widmer, USG president, said the administration's lower proposal is a good start.
"Obviously we were hoping that we have tuition around the rate of inflation," Widmer said. "But since the Legislature hasn't come out with a budget, [the administration] is risking a lot with a 6.5 percent proposal."
The 6.5 percent increase would raise tuition for resident undergraduates by $299.91 to about $4,914.
Crow said the money raised from the tuition increase would help fund more advisers, building renewal and security services, and raise the minimum wage for some workers, among other things.
He said he hopes additional funding from the Legislature will fill the gap between the 8.5 and 6.5 percent proposals.
"We've received encouraging reports," he said. "We have people who want to help the University."
Even with increased funding from the state, ASU would be strained for funding because of enrollment growth, Crow said.
Of every 100 new students who enter one of the three in-state universities in the Arizona university system, 95 come to ASU, he said.
"We're still receiving additional students," he added. "It's hard for us to get ahead. We're not getting 95 percent of the resources."
James Rund, vice president of undergraduate initiatives, said enrollment growth strains the University's resources.
"We're doing the best we can to maintain quality instruction and academic support," he said.
Crow said the ASU Advocacy Group -- the students who have staged tuition protests on campus and at the Capitol -- have attracted attention.
"The students need to have a strong voice," he said. "I've heard their voice, and I think the legislators have heard their voice."
Widmer said she thinks the pressure students put on the administration played a part in the lower proposal.
"I definitely appreciate that they have responded to student protest," Widmer said.
She added that students have met one-on-one with several legislators, and the response has been positive.
"We've been told that higher education would be a budget priority," Widmer said. "We have good reason to believe that it will be."
Students will continue to place pressure on the Legislature for additional funding, she added.
The regents were scheduled to vote on resident undergraduate tuition at their March meeting, but decided to wait until the Legislature appropriated its budget. They hoped the Legislature would provide more money for the universities.
The regents will now vote on tuition at their meeting Thursday, even though the Legislature has not yet appropriated its budget.
Crow said he thinks the regents will support the new proposal.
The regents will also decide on Thursday if they should set tuition in the fall semester in subsequent years.
Currently, tuition is set in the spring semester.
Reach the reporter at tara.brite@asu.edu.
