Arizona universities' tuition, student fees to increase

• ASU to charge $320 one-time surcharge per student to help offset state budget cuts.
• Regents will vote on a tuition rate for 'dreamers' in June.
• Universities also expected to make budget cuts.

In-state students at Arizona State University will pay a one-time $320 surcharge for the next year. Tuition is also going up for new undergraduates at the University of Arizona and Northern Arizona University but not for current students in guaranteed-tuition plans.

The Arizona Board of Regents approved the increases on Monday to help offset some of the $99 million in state funding cuts to the state's three universities approved by Gov. Doug Ducey and the state Legislature this year.

"Until the Legislature re-invests in the universities, this may be the pattern of the future," Regents Chairman Mark Killian said after the vote.

Ducey, a member of the board of regents by virtue of his elected position, was not at Monday's tuition vote. Asked earlier on Monday his opinion, he said he opposes tuition increases.

Under the changes approved Monday, tuition and fees at ASU will be $10,478 a year for in-state undergraduates for the 2015-16 school year.

Tuition for international students at ASU also will rise by about 11 percent.

Current students who are in guaranteed-tuition plans at UA and NAU won't see their rates rise. Incoming undergraduate students at UA will pay $11,403 a year, with the rate guaranteed for four years.

NAU's rate for new undergraduate students will be $10,358 a year, with the tuition price good for four years.

The university presidents have said the tuition increases approved by the regents won't make up for all the state funding cuts. ASU President Michael Crow said the temporary $320 surcharge will help offset about 25 percent of the state cuts per student.

ASU is losing $53 million in state cuts.

"The decrease in state investment does require us to ask our students and their families to contribute more to the cost of their education," ASU's Crow wrote in the university's tuition proposal to the regents.

All three university presidents said they also plan to implement budget cuts, reallocate funds and look for ways to bring in more revenue.

Student leaders said they aren't happy about the tuition increases but understand why they are necessary in light of the budget cuts.

"With the cuts from the state, there really wasn't an option," said Corina Tapscott, incoming president of ASU's Downtown Phoenix campus.

This year, Arizona's sticker price for tuition and fees is already slightly above the national average of $9,139 for public universities, according to the College Board, a non-profit group that tracks pricing trends. Tuition and fees for in-state undergraduates at Arizona universities range from about $9,900 to nearly $11,000 for in-state undergraduates, depending on the university.

The state universities, however, have their own set of "peer" schools that they compare themselves to in other states. These comparisons show they are below average for their peer groups.

Arizona, like many other states, saw decreased state funding for universities during the recession as state revenues dropped sharply.

Arizona had the deepest funding cuts to higher education in the nation during the recession, according to the Center on Budget and Policy Priorities. Tuition rates have nearly doubled.

Before the recession, the state university system received about $1 billion a year from the state. The recent $99 million budget cuts will drop universities below $600 million for fiscal 2016.

After the university budget cuts were announced in March, Killian, the regents chairman, threatened to sue the state for violating a clause in the Arizona Constitution that says university education should be "as nearly free as possible."

Killian said on Monday the regents are still researching that option.

"Some of the feedback we're getting in the community is, 'Why waste your time spending that money? Go see if you can work with the Legislature.' So we're getting mixed feelings from the higher-education community as to what to do," Killian said.

Killian, during the meeting, said the board has a lot of work to do to convince the state Legislature that the universities are an investment, rather than a cost.

Reporter Yvonne Wingett Sanchez contributed to this story.

Reach the reporter at: (602-444-8072) or anne.ryman@arizonarepublic.com

How tuition and fees will change for 2015-16 school year

Arizona State University:

Arizona resident undergraduates: $10,478 a year, or 3% more.(This includes a one-time, temporary surcharge that is designed to offset some of the state budget cuts.)

Non-resident undergraduates: $25,458 a year or 4% more.

Northern Arizona University

Current students on guaranteed tuition program: No change.

New Arizona resident undergraduates: $10,358, or 4% more. Tuition rate guaranteed for four years.

New non-resident undergraduates: $23,348, or 4 percent more. Tuition rate guaranteed for four years.

University of Arizona:

Current students on guaranteed-tuition program: No change in tuition and mandatory fees are now included in the guaranteed rate. Current students who are not on the guaranteed-tuition program have the option of opting into the plan at last year's rates.

New Arizona resident undergraduates: $11,403, or 4 percent more. Tuition and mandatory fees are guaranteed for four years.

New non-resident undergraduates: $32,630, or 11 percent more. Tuition and mandatory fees are guaranteed for four years.

* Rates don't include class fees that are charged for some individual classes or program fees that are charged for some academic programs. Some individual campuses also may have higher or lower rates than the ones listed above.

Source: Arizona Board of Regents