Tuition at the University of Arizona will increase 1 percent for incoming undergraduate students, who will also be saddled with a long list of fees, including a $100 athletic fee supporting sports programs and facilities.
The Arizona Board of Regents, which governs the stateโs three public universities, is meeting in Tucson this week. The board voted Thursday to approve UAโs tuition package.
On Friday, the regents will vote on whether to hire Robert C. Robbins, a Texas hospital administrator, to be the UAโs next president.
Robbins, if approved, would be paid $988,000 in salary and benefits, which is more than any university president in Arizona history. Ann Weaver Hartโs presidential pay packages total $670,000 and she will continue to be paid until June 2018.
Matthew Rein, a student body senator-elect for the Associated Students of University of Arizona, urged the regents during public comment to consider what sort of message the high salary sends to students in a time of continued tuition increases.
โI urge the Arizona Legislature, University of Arizona and the Arizona Board of Regents to re-evaluate their priorities,โ he said.
Most of UAโs existing students are enrolled in guaranteed tuition programs and would not be affected by the tuition increase. The price tag for a UA education for incoming in-state undergrads will be $12,228 and $35,658 for out-of-state students.
Despite a minimal tuition increase, the UA will still bring in an additional $3.5 million through increased fees, which includes the latest iteration of an athletics fee that former athletics director Greg Byrne proposed last year.
Other fees include $425 for recreation; $535 for information and library; and $150 for student services.
Last year, Byrne proposed a $200 annual athletics fee to support a $150 million sports facilities improvement project, which would include a renovation of 79-year-old Arizona Stadium.
Student groups fought against it, and the plan was tabled. Byrne left earlier this year for a job at the University of Alabama.
UA spokesman Chris Sigurdson previously said money collected from the fees would not be used to pay coachesโ salaries.
The regents board has heard a lot lately from students about fees and how the revenues are deployed, Regents President Eileen Klein said at the meeting Thursday. Universities already conduct audits on how fees are used, but that information should be more visible to students, she added.
โStudents are clearly needing to see more in terms of their understanding and also some streamlining,โ she said.
Alexandra Cordell, a graduating senior, said during public comment that sports have been a big part of her UA experience. She attended as many games as she could, but understands that other students may not care as much.
โI donโt think that this fee should be imposed on students who do not share those same values,โ she said.
HI CORBETT deal approved
Regents approved a deal between the UA and the city of Tucson that will keep the Arizona baseball team playing at Hi Corbett Field.
The 25-year agreement entails the UA taking over management of the 90-year-old baseball field, where the Wildcats baseball team practices and plays home games.
The UA has also promised to invest about $3 million in stadium improvements, including new lights, seating and batting cages.
Under the agreement, the UA would pay $10 a year for rent and the city will get 2 percent of food and merchandise sales at the field.
NEW OFFERINGS
UA will establish three new academic programs, as the regents gave the go-ahead.
The three programs are:
- Master of Science in Cybersecurity in Management and Information Systems in the Eller College of Management;
- Master of Arts in Human Rights in the College of Social and Behavioral Sciences; and
- Bachelor of Science in Food Safety in Animal and Comparative Biomedical Sciences in the College of Agriculture and Life Sciences.
But regents had some concerns about the expected outcomes not being so clear. The UA would have to work on that.
