University of Arizona students on Monday unveiled their tuition proposal for next year, asking the Board of Regents to freeze costs for in-state students.
After accepting steep hikes that nearly doubled tuition in the last six years, student leaders said the financial burden has shifted too far their way and called on the Legislature to provide additional funding equal to a 5 percent tuition increase.
With a constitutional mandate for university education to be "as nearly free as possible," it's the state's responsibility to make college affordable and accessible, said Chris Nagata, a UA sophomore and board member of the Arizona Students' Association, a statewide lobbying group.
Students at Arizona State University and Northern Arizona University joined their UA counterparts in calling for no increase in in-state tuition.
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"It has the students in mind and it's what we think is going to be the best for them," said Tommy Bruce, UA student body president.
The statewide tuition plan also calls for the creation of a tuition task force, with students, regents and administrators working together to devise a more cohesive and forward-looking approach to setting tuition.
"We need long-term vision for tuition. We can no longer say, 'We'll discuss tuition each year as it comes,' " Bruce said. "The question is, 'How can we set a long-term plan so students, regents and administrators aren't thinking about tuition in a new way each year.' It just needs to be laid out."
Last year's increase for all in-state students was 5 percent in comparison with hikes that have ranged up to nearly 40 percent in recent years. Students said the wide range in price increases year-to-year harms families planning for college, especially in households with more than one student in school.
David Martinez III, a UA senior and non-voting student regent, said goals for the task force should be transparency and predictability, with all parties understanding that a college education is an investment for each individual student as well as for the state as a whole.
"If there's an increase, the students need to see where it's going. They need to see the money is going to student priorities," he said.
This year's student tuition proposal breaks tradition by being announced before the university presidents make their recommendations. UA President Robert Shelton will announce his proposal Thursday, said university spokesman Johnny Cruz.
"We feel that the students' tuition proposal is as valid and important as the president's proposal," Bruce said. "It's important to us that everyone sees the student proposal in the same light as the president's proposal."
The student proposal only deals with resident tuition. Bruce said the students are likely to support Shelton's recommendation for out-of-state students and that student leaders have urged Shelton to keep the increase below 10 percent.
The students have a difficult task in persuading the regents to side with their approach. A similar proposal last year that called for a limited tuition increase contingent on greater state funding was defeated by a 6-4 vote, with some saying the approach was risky.
Still, Nagata said the students' greatest asset is strength in numbers, with more than 120,000 students at the state's three universities. Student leaders promise a more vigorous campaign to put their priorities and concerns in the limelight and at the forefront of the regents' minds.
