Tuition rate hikes OK'd for Arizona universities

State residents who start at the University of Arizona this fall will pay 3.2 percent more for tuition than current freshmen, and nonresidents will pay 7.2 percent more.

The rate increases were approved Thursday, April 7 at the UA during a meeting of the Arizona Board of Regents, overseers of the state university system.

Most current UA undergraduates — about 78 percent — are not affected by the changes. Their rates were set in years past and locked in under the UA’s guaranteed tuition plan.

A UA freshman who lives in Arizona will now face an annual tab of $11,769 for basic tuition and mandatory fees, an increase of $366. A nonresident’s tab will rise by $2,337 to $34,967.

Regents spent much of Thursday’s session lamenting the need for tuition increases and calling on the Arizona Legislature to give back tens of millions in funding previously cut from the university system.

The board has asked lawmakers to restore $32 million in funding to the university system for the coming school year — $24 million more than the $8 million Gov. Doug Ducey has proposed in his budget.

Regents said they can’t keep hiking tuition rates indefinitely to make up for state cuts.

Current rates already are a strain for many Arizonans, especially those with just enough income that they don’t qualify for financial aid, they said.

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“More and more we’re creating stress in the middle class and that can’t continue,” said Regent Rick Myers of Tucson.

The new UA rate structure also includes a 2.8 percent increase for in-state graduate students and a 5.8 percent increase for nonresidents. Those changes adds up to an extra $355 for residents and $1,765 more for nonresidents.

Students at the UA’s Sierra Vista campus will see their bills rise by 2.9 percent to $8,803 for residents. Nonresidents would pay 5.9 percent more for a total of $31,265.

Regents also approved tuition increases for Arizona State University and Northern Arizona University.

ASU undergraduates who live in-state will pay 1.5 percent more next school year. The change will add $162 to a basic tuition bill, increasing it from $10,478 to $10,640.

ASU also is reducing a $320 per student surcharge the school instituted last year in response to state budget cuts. The new surcharge is $270.

At NAU, tuition will rise 3.9 percent to $10,764 for an in-state freshman under that school’s guaranteed tuition plan.