The University of Arizona wants to raise undergraduate tuition by 2% for in-state students and 5.6% for out-of-state students.
The Arizona Board of Regents will vote on the proposal at its meeting in Tucson next month, and if it passes, the increase will apply only to students who enter during or after the 2022-23 academic year.
The UA has not raised tuition for in-state undergraduates since 2019.
According to a UA news release Friday, 99% of current students won’t see the increase because the university’s Guaranteed Tuition Program freezes current tuition rates and fees for four consecutive years starting the year of a student’s enrollment.
The incoming students who would see the increases next year would also be guaranteed to pay those rates for the next four years.
Additionally, the UA also wants to increase mandatory fees by $175 per year for the health and recreation fee and $135 per year for the student services fee. The Recreation Center program fee may increase annually based on the consumer price index, and the Arizona Financial Aid Trust fee will increase based on an approved tuition increase.
The fee increase, the news release explained, will help the UA create long-term financial sustainability of student dining services, expand efforts to fight food insecurity, meet growing demand for mental health and health care services, and keep up with an increasing minimum wage.
Last fall, Tucson voters approved a ballot measure to increase the local minimum wage, which will increase to $13 an hour in April, to $15 an hour by January 2025.
“We have worked with students, faculty and staff to create a tuition plan focused on investments that allow the university to tackle the next set of societal challenges and also prepare students to pursue their goals after graduation,” UA President Robert Robbins said Friday.
“It is a priority to keep tuition increases low. Tuition and fee increases are one small piece of institutional funding for our priorities, which also include operational efficiencies, investment income and resources for auxiliaries, as outlined under our strategic plan.”
Under the proposed tuition increase plan, incoming resident undergraduate students would pay $11,525 in tuition, and new nonresident undergraduate students would pay $37,827.
All resident graduate students would pay $12,348, a 2% increase in tuition, and nonresident graduate students would pay $32,290, the same tuition as last year.
Students in the UA’s medical programs will also see increases if the board approves.
College of Medicine-Tucson and College of Medicine-Phoenix resident tuition would increase 4.3% and nonresident tuition would increase 1% for first- through fourth-year students. The College of Veterinary Medicine’s tuition would increase 3% for resident and nonresident first- through third-year students.
Arizona Online’s tuition prices are set by each individual degree program, and the current range of $300 to $1,360 per credit will not change for undergraduate students.
The range for graduate students, however, would increase by 9% or $478 to $1,250 per credit to accommodate changes in the master’s for entry to the profession of nursing degree program.
Before the final vote on the proposed tuition increases, the regents will hold a virtual public hearing at 3 p.m. on Monday, March 28, to discuss the tuition recommendations made by the UA as well as those made by Arizona State University and Northern Arizona University.
