The Associated Students of ASU hosted a forum Monday with University President Michael Crow answering student questions at the Polytechnic campus' Picacho Hall about the proposed tuition increase for the 2022-23 academic year, secure housing on campus and support for international students.
Crow said students should "raise their hands" when their financial circumstances change, so the University can find out how to assist students on a case-by-case basis.
Crow announced on March 7 he was requesting a 2.5% tuition increase for in-state students, a 4% increase for out-of-state students and a 5% increase for international students for the 2022-23 academic year.
"The design is to keep out-of-state tuition and international student tuition at around the average for students in the United States," Crow said. "For in-state students — even with a 2.5% (increase) — it'll be the lowest tuition in Arizona to attend a public university."
READ MORE: ASU President Michael Crow proposes tuition increases for 2022-23 academic year
Crow said students should update their financial portfolio to better reflect their potential merit and needs-based scholarship eligibility. He said students should apply for economic advancement opportunities on campus like taking a student worker position.
Crow then answered questions submitted by students asked by Cecilia Alcantar-Chavez, the president of Undergraduate Student Government Polytechnic, and Nicole Mayberry, the president of Graduate and Professional Student Association.
Crow said the University is capping certain merit-based scholarship amounts while expanding need-based scholarships to better manage the available financial aid packages.
The New American University President's Scholarship, a competitive award eligible for students who graduated from an Arizona high school, will be reduced from $10,000 to $8,000.
"To be blunt about it, what we found was that large numbers of students from very wealthy families were receiving all of the merit awards or huge amounts of the merit awards within the institution," Crow said. "We need to put a cap on those awards. Students can still be eligible for other awards."
Crow said ASU raised "a lot more money privately" for certain student aid programs, including a $15 million endowment for a Luminosity scholarship, which he said will provide awards for about 50 students.
Crow was asked about the lack of messaging from when U.S. left Afghanistan compared with the University's statements about Ukraine.
The University welcomed nearly 60 Afghan women in December, who began studying in Arizona this semester. Through the Education for Humanity unit, led by former UN official Pam Delargy, ASU has academic programs, technology and assets engaged in refugee communities around the world.
READ MORE: Afghan refugees start their studies at ASU
Crow said University staff are researching whether the housing office can acquire control of newly-built apartment buildings in downtown Phoenix and Tempe for students to rent at a reduced cost.
"I would preview the three additional new builds that will be coming: one at the West Campus, one in Tempe and one for upper-division students," said Joanne Vogel, vice president of student services. "We've heard very strongly from our students … that they would like to continue living with us rather than go out into that market nearby. We are glad to be able to be working on a solution for you to be able to continue on with us."
ASU will continue to expand across buildings on the Polytechnic and West campuses in the coming years, Crow said.
Correction: A previous version of this story incorrectly described a question and answer about the University’s responses to the U.S. leaving Afghanistan and the Russian invasion of Ukraine. The story was updated on March 22 at 10:15 a.m. to reflect the correction.
Reach the reporter at tjgantz@asu.edu and follow @GantzTori on Twitter.
Like The State Press on Facebook and follow @statepress on Twitter.
Tori is a politics reporter covering voting rights, labor, and University Student Government Polytechnic at the State Press. They are currently working for the News Collab and Wick Communications to create the Voices Listening Project, a collaborative research project in Arizona funded by the Google News initiative.
