The Arizona Board of Regents has officially approved the University of Arizona’s new tuition model set to take effect for the 2024-25 school year.
The new model passed unanimously during the board’s Thursday meeting.
It will consolidate the undergraduate tuition and fees into three components: base tuition, student engagement fees which combine all mandatory fees, and the college fee model, which will eliminate course/program fees except for in the W.A. Franke Honors College.
“The proposal before us today is the culmination of significant planning and thoughtful reflection,” UA President Robert C. Robbins told the regents at Thursday’s meeting.
The Franke Honors College will see a program fee increase from $475 to $600 per year. The college of nursing’s graduate program will move from a fixed rate ($48,000 per program for residents and $68,000 for non-residents) to a financially equivalent program fee of $5,000 per term for both residents and non-residents.
The new Master of Science in business analytics offered from the Eller College of Management is increasing the per-credit cap to $1,350 for residents and $1,600 for non-residents.
Finally, The Mel and Enid Zuckerman College of Public Health is creating a new $750 per term fee for the College of Medicine Tucson students enrolled in the dual MD-MPH program.
Robbins previously expressed his support for the plan in an earlier letter sent to ABOR, which asked the UA to provide a new tuition model.
“These shifts will help provide stability and predictability for students and their families, while also reducing the administrative burden for numerous colleagues across the University,” he wrote in the letter. “They are a critical part of the ongoing efforts at the University of Arizona, guided by the Board’s goals, to operate efficiently and provide the highest quality experience and education for our Wildcats, for years to come.”
The new tuition model comes as the UA has entered a “financial crisis,” due to a $240 million miscalculation of cash on hand at the university. Because of that miscalculation, Robbins has stated multiple times that he is considering cutting back on financial aid offered to students.
The UA’s website states the estimated cost for an Arizona resident living on campus to attend the university as an undergraduate is $33,200 per year. For non-Arizona residents, the cost for an undergraduate is estimated to be $58,200 per year. The estimates include the cost of tuition without financial aid, housing expenses, the expected cost of books, and other fees.
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