University of Arizona announces proposed tuition increases for new, incoming undergraduates

TUCSON, Ariz. (13 News) - The University of Arizona on Friday, March 10, announced tuition hikes for new undergraduate students.

The university has proposed a 3% increase in resident tuition and a 4% increase in nonresident tuition for affected students in the 2023-24 academic year.

More than 99% of current UA students will see no increase because their tuition and fees are frozen under the Guaranteed Tuition Program.

Launched in 2014, the Guaranteed Tuition Program ensures undergraduates pay a fixed tuition rate for eight consecutive semesters. Incoming undergraduate students for the 2023-24 academic year are guaranteed the new tuition rate and fees for four consecutive years.

Most mandatory fees for undergraduates will remain unchanged, with the exception of the Recreation Center Program fee, which increases annually, and the Arizona Financial Aid Trust fee, which will increase based on an approved tuition increase.

The Arizona Board of Regents is expected to vote on tuition and fees on April 20 after hearing testimony and public comments about tuition recommendations made by UArizona, Arizona State University and Northern Arizona University.

The virtual public tuition hearing is scheduled for March 28, from 3 to 5 p.m. The link to register and submit a form to speak at the hearing will be available on March 17 on ABOR’s Public Notices website. You can watch a livestream of the hearing at ABOR Live.

The board is expected to vote on tuition and fees on April 20 in Tucson. This meeting also will be livestreamed HERE.

“It remains a priority of the University of Arizona to keep tuition increases as low as possible for our students and their families, while ensuring that we are able to carry out our education, research and land-grant missions,” UA President Robert C. Robbins said. “I am pleased that most of our students will not see an increase in tuition next year, and the increases for the incoming class are well below inflation rates to minimize impact.”

Incoming resident undergraduate students will pay $11,871 in tuition, and new nonresident undergraduate students will pay $39,340.

All resident graduate students will pay $12,718, a 3% increase in tuition, and nonresident graduate students will pay $32,290, the same tuition as last year. Mandatory fees for graduate students will increase by $3.

Arizona Online tuition is set by each individual degree program and the range of program tuition will remain the same for undergraduate students, at $500 to $1,746 per credit, and for graduate students, at $500 to $2,222 per credit.

Tuition for University of Arizona Global Campus undergraduate and graduate students will not increase.

Resident tuition for the College of Medicine – Tucson and College of Medicine – Phoenix will increase 4.75%, and nonresident tuition will increase 1.25% for first-year through fourth-year students. Resident students in the Phoenix college will pay $18,894 per semester, while nonresidents will pay $27,980 per semester. Resident students in the Tucson college will pay between $17,810 and $18,894 per semester depending on what year of medical school they are in. Nonresidents will pay between $27,703 and $27,980 per semester.

College of Veterinary Medicine tuition will not increase, remaining at $47,277 a year for resident students and $73,542 a year for nonresidents.

University tuition presentations will be given during the Arizona Board of Regents Finance, Capital and Resources Committee on March 23, from 12:30 p.m. to 3 p.m. at Arizona State University. The meeting will be livestreamed.

With rising costs across the nation for colleges and universities, Superintendent Dustin Williams said he wasn’t surprised by the proposed increase but he was disappointed. He believes everyone should have an opportunity to go to college, and this could take that opportunity away from some of the county’s underserved communities.

He said, “One thing we look at when we look at families across the board is just equity. Who can afford these types of prices? And who can’t? obviously, looking at the trends, we know that kids of color and families that are poor can’t have an opportunity or make it make it hard to have an opportunity to go to universities.”

Williams, who is also a parent, is advocating to keep costs down and wants universities to keep things as affordable as possible. In the meantime, he has advice for students and parents preparing for college.

″They need a plan. They need to really look at this with a good long term plan, but for those students, try to get those scholarships, try to get those Pell Grants, try to look for any of those available dollars early that are going to offset those massive debts when these universities raise rates and increase fees,” he explained.

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