The Arizona Board of Regents approved tuition proposals for the 2018 - 2019 academic year from all public in-state universities Thursday morning, meaning that ASU's in-state undergraduates won't see any increase in their tuition next year.
International and out-of-state students will face a 3.5 percent increase and online students will face a 2 percent increase. ASU President Michael Crow said there would be a “modest” increase of 1.5 percent for in-state graduate students.
These numbers fall within Crow's promise to not increase in-state tuition more than 3 percent per year for 10 years.
Read more: ASU 2018-2019 tuition proposal calls for no increase for resident undergrads
Regent Ron Shoopman said that though tuition is only one part of funding for a university, it is becoming more important because of recent state cuts to education.
President Crow agreed.
“Over the last many years, while experiencing a reduction in state support on a per student basis, we’ve had to reconstruct and redesign the entirety of the institution,” Crow said in a meeting with the Arizona Board of Regents.
Crow said this redesign was completed seven years ago and he plans to keep the 10-year tuition promise.
Crow proposed no increase in any fees for in-state undergraduate students, though the Associated Students of ASU Council of Presidents approved a $15-per-semester increase to the student health fee earlier this semester.
There are new fees in graduate programs as well, though Crow did not speak about them in detail.
Crow said he is working to find a way to keep ASU accessible, excellent and continuously moving forward.
Rita Cheng, president of Northern Arizona University, said there would be slight increases in tuition for NAU students. Her proposal for the 2018 academic year sets tuition for incoming resident undergrads at $11,564. Cheng continued a guarantee that a student will pay the same price for four years at school.
Robert Robbins, president of the University of Arizona, said both undergraduate and graduate UA students will face a 2 percent increase in tuition and no increase in mandatory fees. He noted that the passing of tuition proposals didn't see many issues this year.
“This is about as smooth as it has gone in recent years,” Robbins said.
Reach the reporters at mlutesad@asu.edu and ajhowar6@asu.edu and follow @mackinleyjade and @andrew_howard4 on Twitter.
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