Story by Bryan Pietsch and Monique Artis
While in-state students are relieved that resident tuition at Arizona State University will remain the same next year, out-of-state students are ambivalent about the proposed tuition increase.
Out-of-state undergraduate tuition will increase by 3.5 percent, or $934, next school year, according to Michael Crow’s tuition proposal released Friday. Crow also proposed tuition hikes for in-state and out-of-state graduate students, international students and ASU Online credits.
In the tuition proposal there is no increase in the cost of mandatory or academic fees. The $30 health fee increase, passed by student government last month, is the only proposed fee increase.
In 2012, Crow promised to keep tuition increases for residents to a minimum.
“Six years ago, I promised for a 10-year cycle, that the resident tuition will not increase more than 3 percent in any given year,” said Crow in a statement.
Jackson Dangremond, the Undergraduate Student Government president for ASU’s Downtown Phoenix campus, sees the stagnant price of resident tuition as a signal to students and the entirety of Arizona that ASU is “doing their best to make tuition as low as possible.”
ASU’s cost of attendance is the cheapest compared to other universities in Arizona. ASU is also listed as a “Best Buy” compared to 20 U.S. public universities, according to the Fiske Guide to Colleges 2018,
However, The 3.5 percent increase for non-residents is outside of the range that Crow promised to maintain for resident students. Tuition and fees for out-of-state undergraduate and graduate students has increased more than two percent each year, according to data from ASU.
Dangremond said ASU will still remain a good option for out-of-state students despite the expected tuition increase. He said ASU may still be cheaper than some more expensive options in their own state.
“Students may have picked ASU because it’s cheaper than schools within their own states, like the University of California schools and University of Colorado, Boulder,” Dangremond said.
Other non-resident students recognize that attending a school outside of their home state comes at a higher cost, which may be offset by a scholarship.
Jake Baker, a sophomore from Wisconsin, said he’s okay with the increase for non-residents.
“Most of us out-of-state students come on some form of scholarship and we understand that we’re gonna have to pay more money,” Baker said. “Because we really do want to go to this school, the premium is kind of accepted. We’re already paying a lot of money, so 3.5 percent is not that big of a deal.”
For in-state student Sam Taylor, the announcement is a relief.
“It’s good news for me because college is expensive as it is and anything that can make it more affordable helps,” Taylor said. “I was honestly expecting my tuition to increase during my time at ASU so this is a pleasant surprise.”
While Taylor is content with the impact on in-state students, she said that she’s worried the increase could drive away out-of-state students.
“One of the best parts of college has been meeting people from different places with different backgrounds, so I do feel bad for out-of-state students who already have to pay more,” Taylor said. “$1,000 is not an insignificant amount of money,” she said, referring to the $934 increase for non-resident students.
Thinking about what it’s like for out-of-state students, Taylor said, “If I were on the other side of this situation, it might make me rethink my decision about attending ASU.”
Dangremond stressed that even though resident tuition is remaining the same, advocacy for funding at the state level needs to continue.
“If it’s no longer going up, we need to make sure we’re still advocating for support from the state for ASU to ensure that in-state tuition is still affordable,” Dangremond said.
Contact the reporters at bpietsch@asu.edu and mmartis@asu.edu.
