Tuition could increase by as much as $598 for new students and $283 for continuing students next year under guidelines set by the Arizona Board of Regents on Thursday.
The regents voted 6-to-4 to approve upper limits developed by a task force for tuition increases at the three state universities.
Under the approved parameters, ASU President Michael Crow cannot ask for more than a 10.6 percent tuition increase for new students and 5 percent increase for continuing students when he makes a tuition proposal to the board in December.
But Sandra Woodley, chief of finances for the board, said other factors — like financial aid and scholarships — affects the amount students actually pay to attend a state university.
“The tuition price for which the maximum parameters apply is only a sticker price, like when you’re buying a new car,” Woodley said. “Very few students actually pay the full price.”
She said on average, students pay less than $2,000 per year for tuition after scholarships, financial aid and discounts.
The affordability of tuition for students is one of two factors taken into consideration by the board when analyzing possible tuition increases, Woodley said.
“I do think there are a number of citizens, students and faculty that understand there is an effort to keep the price low,” she said.
The second factor, according to Woodley, is the board’s strategic 2020 Vision plan, which is to double the number of Arizonans with bachelor’s degrees in the next 12 years.
“The goal of raising the number of bachelor’s degrees and the educational attainment rate is not really geared towards the benefit of the University; it’s geared toward the quality of life for all citizens in Arizona and the economy,” she said.
In order for the board to accomplish this goal, they need to draw from their only two financial resources: tuition and state tax revenue, Woodley said.
She added the board has seen a decrease in state tax revenue.
Julia Stevenson, a history graduate student, said she thinks the tuition increase is a necessary measure.
“I don’t want to see a tuition increase for anybody of course, but I think we almost have to just because of the budget shortfall,” she said.
Some students, like elementary education senior Sarah Keating, say tuition is already too high.
“For a bachelor’s degree alone, I am going to be paying off my student loans until I am an old woman,” she said.
The state regent’s also establishes a guaranteed-tuition program, which locks new students in at a fixed tuition rate.
This means students will pay the same tuition rate for up to five years.
So whatever tuition is approved, it will only apply to the student’s first academic year.
“Totally, it averages out to only between a 3 and 5 percent increase over the four years,” Woodley said.
However, students would be subject to student-fee increases during their years at a university.
