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GSG votes to subsidize new tuition surcharge for graduate student body

As a new $350 surcharge is implemented for the student body this semester, GSG moves to compensate some money for graduate students

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"The idea for a surcharge reimbursement was driven by extra funds allotted to GSG this year, according to Michael Kintscher, a graduate student studying computer science and the GSG assembly president."


The Graduate Student Government approved the NO FEES Fund Act, a piece of legislation endorsed by dozens of students to reimburse graduate students for a $350 surcharge added to tuition in the Spring 2025 semester.

The University said they will be adding the surcharge to provide financial stability to the University after a $24 million budget cut made by the State Legislature and the Governor of Arizona. 

In the No FEES Fund Act, GSG approved setting aside approximately $350,000 of the student government's money, subsidizing the surcharge. 

The idea for a surcharge reimbursement was driven by extra funds allotted to GSG this year, according to Michael Kintscher, a graduate student studying computer science and the GSG assembly president.

"We suddenly have a lot more money than the past few years, so we got to figure out what to do with this, because we've been operating without it for quite a while now," Kintscher said. "We felt that one of the better ways to do this is to provide some money to students, especially since fees like this impact our graduate students more than undergraduates."

Kintscher said a reason why the surcharge was so relevant to GSG is that graduate students are more likely to be responsible for their own tuition, forcing them to pay more attention to finances.

"A lot of our graduate students don't have any kind of family support paying for a grad degree," Kintscher said.

With tuition due for the Spring 2025 semester on Jan. 25, Kintscher said GSG is working with the University’s administration to reimburse $350 to students for the surcharge. 

"We're still figuring out exactly how it'll work," Kintscher said. "The idea is to get money back to the students, specifically students who don't already have it covered through some other means."

Another navigational element that GSG is working on is how they will choose the students who receive the money. The money allotted for the program is only enough for 1,000 students out of over 41,000 graduate students. 

"In an ideal dream world, we would subsidize it for everyone, but the math just literally isn't there," Kintscher said. "We don't have that kind of money."

While the tuition charge is set at $350, tuition estimates for the coming semesters put future surcharges at $175 per semester. 

READ MORE: ASU adds tuition surcharge for Spring 2025, termination of ASU at Lake Havasu

GSG passed the act as part of a larger movement from the assembly, where they have proved they are not willing to accept most of the fees added by the University over the past school year. 

"A lot of grad students are living paycheck to paycheck, so a surprise $350 charge on your account is not subtle," said Kelly Baur, a graduate student studying linguistics and applied linguistics and the GSG President.

Baur said she was disappointed in the school because she felt that despite the University's announcement about the surcharge, students were not properly prepared for the fee. 

"No one knew that there (was) even a new surcharge this semester," Baur said. "It's deeply concerning that this is how the University moves. They depend on people not paying any attention."

Hypatia Meraviglia, a graduate student studying geological sciences and an assembly member of GSG, said that despite some complications, GSG's attempt to reimburse students is the correct approach for student government. 

"We have some resources that are provided by the University, and we are distributing them to students to try to mitigate the harm that the University is causing," Meraviglia said. "I think that is exactly what we are supposed to do."

Edited by George Headley, Sophia Ramirez and Natalia Jarrett.


Reach the reporter at ehprest1@asu.edu and follow @ellis_reports on X 

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Ellis PrestonPolitics Reporter

Ellis is a sophomore studying journalism and mass communication. This is her first semester with The State Press. She has also worked at Arizona PBS and Blaze Radio.


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