The Arizona Board of Regents has approved tuition increases for incoming students at the University of Arizona.
This is the second time since 2019 that the UA, as well as Arizona State University and Northern Arizona University, raised the cost of attendance.
Under the approved plan, tuition at the UA will increase 3% — from $11,525 to $11,871 — for in-state undergraduates who enroll during the 2023-24 school year and 4% —$37,827 to $39,340 — for out-of-state students who enroll next school year.
At NAU, in-state undergraduate tuition will increase by 3% — from $11,024 to $11,352 — and out-of-state undergraduate tuition will increase by 5%, from $26,286 to $27,600. At ASU, most in-state undergraduates will see a 3% rise in tuition — from $10,978 to $11,308 — and most out-of-state undergraduates will see a 5% increase, from $29,952 to $31,450.
But the wide majority of current UA students won’t see their tuition bill increase next year. That’s because the UA’s Guaranteed Tuition Program freezes undergraduate tuition and fee rates for eight semesters beginning with the term of the student’s matriculation.
This is the last year the regents will vote on university tuition and fee increases on an annual basis.
New tuition framework
Recently, the board adopted a new, multi-year structure for setting tuition at all three of Arizona’s public universities.
It goes into effect during the 2024-25 school year and requires each university to “present maximum growth rates for resident tuition, fees, housing and meal plans in six-year cycles.”
In the UA’s six-year plan, which the board approved Friday, the university set the following maximum growth rates through 2029:
3% for undergraduate resident tuition
3% for graduate resident tuition
5% for academic fees
5% for meal plans
7.5% for residence hall plans
5% for College of Medicine – Tucson and College of Medicine – Phoenix tuition
5% for College of Veterinary Medicine tuition
“Our proposed growth rates are below inflationary measures,” UA President Robert Robbins told the board before it passed the proposal, “and will allow us to continue offering robust financial aid to our students.”
The UA offers numerous need-based financial aid scholarships, including Arizona Assurance, the Pell Pledge and Arizona Promise, which is also funded by the state. Additionally, the majority of graduate students who also work as graduate assistants also receive partial or full tuition waivers.
Under the new policy, which is intended to better control tuition prices and give students more notice about any cost-of-attendance increases, universities won’t be able to raise tuition if state funding for higher education exceeds 2.5% of tuition and fee revenues. If state funding is reduced, however, universities can increase tuition beyond the maximum growth rate.
“Our hope is for increased multi-year funding from the state so we can hold the line on tuition increases for students and families,” Regents Chair Lyndel Manson said Friday. “Our students are increasingly challenged with rising inflation, housing costs and being able to afford college. Increased funding from the state will help more Arizona students realize their college dreams and contribute to our state’s workforce needs.”
According to data the board compiled, the Arizona Legislature’s general fund investment in higher education has decreased by nearly half from 2008 to 2023. During that time, tuition and fee rates at Arizona’s public universities have more than doubled — from $6,756 to $13,890.
This chart, provided by the Arizona Board of Regents, shows the relationship between tuition and state funding between 2008 and 2023.
Rise in housing, med school costs
Although the UA raised mandatory fees by $175 for incoming students last year, new students won’t see any increase during the next school year, save for the Arizona Financial Aid Trust fee, which will increase between $3-$4, depending on residency status and campus.
Students who are enrolled in programs through University of Arizona Online, University of Arizona Global Campus and other distance learning programs will see no increase in their tuition prices.
Other tuition and fee increases next year include:
Resident tuition for the College of Medicine — Tucson and College of Medicine — Phoenix will increase 4.75%.
Nonresident medical school tuition will increase 1.25% for first-year through fourth-year students, who will pay between $27,703 and $27,980 per semester.
Resident medical students at the Phoenix college will pay $18,894 per semester, while nonresidents would pay $27,980 per semester.
Resident medical students in the Tucson college would pay between $17,810 and $18,894 per semester, depending on what year of medical school they are in.
College of Veterinary Medicine tuition will not increase, remaining at $47,277 a year for resident students and $73,542 a year for non-residents.
The board also approved an increase to the cost of the UA’s on-campus student housing. Depending on which undergraduate dorm a student lives in, the annual cost will increase between 2.3% and 3.7%. Meanwhile, graduate student housing will see a 3% increase next year.
Protest of tuition hike
Before the nine-member board approved tuition and fee increases for all three universities, a host of students used the public comment period to express their disapproval.
Justine Hecht, a graduate student at ASU, told the board she’s taken out $150,000 in student loans to subsidize the increasing costs of public education. “We cannot afford to live,” said Hecht, who also referenced the inflated costs of child care, food and housing, before asking the board to vote “no” on the increases.
Members of the United Campus Workers of Arizona, which has chapters at ASU and the UA, submitted a petition with more than 1,000 signatures to the board. The petition calls for a $25 minimum wage by 2025 and “jobs security, paths to promotion and thriving wages” for non-tenure track faculty.
Last year, the UA raised the minimum hourly wage to $15 for staff and $14.50 for student workers.
Before voting in favor of increasing tuition and fees, Regent Fred DuVal acknowledged those who spoke out against it.
“Your lived experience motivates us in many ways,” he said over raucous heckling, including one person who asked how much money DuVal makes. But, DuVal explained his “yes” vote by saying, “The state has not increased its investment, while we have grown student enrollment.”
That show of support didn’t soothe the tuition protesters.
After the vote, dozens of people — led by UCWAZ — staged a rally on a lawn near the UA Student Union Memorial Center, where the board was still meeting Friday morning.
“They’re telling us that we should go to the state Capitol and protest because the state Capitol has refused to provide adequate funding for our schools,” said Hecht, the ASU grad student who had spoken of her six-figure student loan debt during the public comment period earlier in the morning.
“Every time (the universities) make a decision to increase our tuition, then (ABOR) sides with the state,” she said. “They side with the continued lack of public funding and the devaluing of public education.”
