ASU president Michael Crow addresses issues brought up by students on the Downtown campus Thursday afternoon. (Photo by Jenn Allen)ASU President Michael Crow addressed student concerns on rising tuition and guns on campus Thursday on the Downtown campus.
The Student Forum with President Crow, organized by the Undergraduate Student Government Downtown, allowed students to ask Crow questions via text message or email. The event was televised for all other ASU campuses.
The tuition proposal submitted by ASU to the Arizona Board of Regents will be the lowest in ten cycles, only reflective of the inflation, Crow said.
“We are not asking (for a) tuition increase to make any new investments and enterprises, or to hire thousands of new staff or faculty,” Crow said.
Individual financial circumstances are also very important, and students should always inform the Financial Aid Office of any changes in their situation to get the assistance needed, Crow said.
“We made the conscious decision — and students should recognize this — that your faculty and your staff for the fourth year will go yet again without a salary adjustment,” he said.
The goal is to reduce administrative cost while still maintaining the academic level of success, Crow said.
Criminal justice junior Isaiah Ben felt satisfied with Crow’s answers regarding tuition costs.
“My concerns are the funding ASU provides to people with less resources,” he said. “I think my questions were answered.”
Crow also discussed the new academic calendar, which began this semester.
“It will allow students to complete their degree in a more timely fashion, which will go a long way to lowering a student’s actual cost to complete their degree,” he said.
When asked about proposed Arizona House Bill 2675, Crow said the University is against it but believes students should provide some of their own funding.
HB 2675 would require all public Arizona university full-time students to contribute at least $2,000 of their annual tuition without funding from a university or university affiliate.
“We oppose that bill as it is written and as it is constructed, but we support the concept of students and families investing in their education,” Crow said.
However, ASU is not changing its commitment to financial aid and will always be driven by fair access to the institution. The strategy is to work on an individual basis as much as possible, Crow said.
A policy concerning guns on campus was also discussed during the forum.
Crow said safety would not increase by the presence of guns on campus and if a bill were to pass, the University would have to take a step back and figure out a new strategy to maintain safety.
Political science and sociology junior Clare Irvine was also in attendance. She wishes there had been more time to discuss the issues and to have follow-up questions.
“I’ve always been very involved on campus, I even got out of class early to come out here,” she said. “It was a great experience to be able to interact with president Crow and to see such a great variety of students represented.”
Reach the reporter at dpbaltaz@asu.edu
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