By
Hillary Davis
Arizona Daily Wildcat
Arizona graduate students could be one step closer to saving thousands of dollars in tuition costs if the Arizona Board of Regents reacts favorably tomorrow a proposal to eliminate the fees.
The discussion item is the most recent in a series of presentations given to the Board about graduate teaching assistant compensation and workload.
Although no legislative action will come immediately from tomorrow's discussion, UA Provost George Davis will present the regents with more evidence of TAs' financial hardships.
John David Miles, an English graduate student and co-chair of the English Graduate Union, said that fee waivers are an important issue and one that the regents should not deal with lightly.
"As such, I strongly doubt that the regents will summarily dismiss our proposal," he said. "True, funding may not come in the next fiscal year, but we think that the Board is aware of the national trends of graduate students and are thus receptive to such proposals."
Miles and EGU co-chair Linda Pierce authored an eight-page proposal outlining why graduate student tuition and fees should be waived.
The proposal states that 1,346 out of the 5,479 individual course sections - about 25 percent - at the UA are taught by TAs, and that of UA's 30 peer institutions, 19 provide partial or full tuition waivers.
Graduate tuition runs about $2,000 a year. Salaries for graduate students range from about $7,500 to $16,000 depending on the department and level of responsibilty.
"These fees (represent) a significant financial hardship for single graduate students, for graduate students with partners, and particularly for graduate students with families," the proposal stated.
Miles said that his salary just barely topped $13,000 last year. After subtracting for rent, utilities and textbooks, Miles said he was left with about $500 a month to spread among other living expenses, such as gas, food and car payments.
Miles also paid about $1,500 in registration fees in the past year.
"I currently owe Visa and Discover a small ransom," he said.
"Sometimes its hard to get excited about this arrangement at the end of the month when you have to creatively pay your bills to cover up a lack of cash," he added, "but deep down graduate students are deeply dedicated to the teaching of undergraduates."
Jason Auxier, an optical sciences graduate student and president of UA's Graduate and Professional Student Council, said that although the regents have shown themselves to be sympathetic to graduate student concerns, the possibility of approving the fee waiver will depend on the cost to the state.
"There are many ideas concerning how waivers might be paid for," Auxier said. "If the cost is minimum, then they will accept it, but if the State must pay for the entire amount of waivers, then they might reject it."
Miles said that the proposal should clearly show the regents how important the waiver would be.
"This proposal gives the Board of Regents a chance to send a strong positive message that they care about the concerns of graduate students, our relationship to the quality of undergraduate education, and the health of the entire university system," Miles said.
Auxier said a changing political climate - the state Legislature is also considering a bill that would provide the UA with enough money to hire 144 more graduate students, in an attempt to lessen TA workloads - and a growing emphasis on educated professionals in a technological workforce enhance the need to make the university attractive to graduate students.
"One of the most effective methods of attracting bright, young talent is through offering better employment packages to graduate assistants at our universities," he said.
As an act of solidarity, English Graduate Union members are also urging graduate students and anybody else who supports the registration fee waiver to attend the Call to the Audience portion of the Board meeting wearing a red shirt.
Call to the Audience begins at 9:05 a.m. tomorrow in the Kiewit Auditorium at the UA Cancer Center, 1515 N. Campbell Ave.
