While we were off enjoying spring break, the University released its tuition proposal for next fall. Unfortunately, the results are not pretty.
Depending on a student’s class standing, in-state undergraduates could be paying more than $9,000 for the first time in history. All these students will see an increase of $1,240.
Out-of-state undergraduates will pay more than $21,800. Tuition for graduate students — both resident and non-resident — will increase by even more than undergraduate students.
Rising tuition and budget cuts are nothing new, but it’s important to not become numb to this news. With three straight years of deep budget cuts, the time is approaching when our tuition dollars will only allow us to keep the lights on rather than improve quality.
This is not to say that it is the University’s fault. We could lay the blame on those who set tuition, but they have to keep the doors open while lawmakers slash funding.
The tuition hike will only make up 40 percent of the loss in state funding, and the University will cut its own budget to make up the remaining 60 percent. The University could have made the case for a much higher tuition increase, but decided not to.
The choices in this situation have never been attractive. Students can either pay much more for the same education or pay the same and risk diminishing the quality of education.
ASU officials have tried to make the best of a nightmarish situation. While our anger and frustration at skyrocketing costs in higher education is justified, blaming ASU administration does no good.
Rather the blame for this mess — still — falls squarely on the shoulders of those who run this state. Over spring break, the state Senate decided to cut $235 million from the state university system, much more than the $170 million that Gov. Jan Brewer proposed.
To put things in perspective, since the fiscal year of 2008, Arizona’s universities have stomached $400 million in cuts. The Senate’s $235 million cut would be more than a 50 percent increase to the total amount of cuts already made.
The cuts that made it through the state Senate must still make it through the state House of Representatives, but it is not hard to imagine it passing — Republicans hold a two to one majority in the House.
It is hard to run a school with no funding. The lower the funding from the state, the more students will pay. How is this a sustainable business model when one of the New American University’s goals is to expand access to higher education?
It’s not. These horrific numbers coming out of the state Capitol can only be indicative of Arizona’s future — a desolate state where education is undervalued and attaining a college degree is only for those who can pay the price tag.
