KRISTIN ELVES/Arizona Daily Wildcat Provost George Davis answers a question pertaining to the increases in UA employees' salaries at yesterday's Faculty Senate meeting. Davis said the university is looking for ways to give raises to university employees who earn more than $82,000 a year, despite a proposal from the Arizona Senate that does not allow for those increases.

Administrators looking to increase tuition by $1,500 over next 3-5 years

UA Provost George Davis said at a Faculty Senate meeting yesterday that he is "attracted to" increasing in-state tuition by about $1,500 over the next three to five years.

He said administrators would like to see the university at the top of the bottom one-third of universities in terms of tuition.

Currently, Arizona has the second-lowest tuition in the United States - behind only Florida. A clause in the Arizona Constitution states that university tuition must be "as nearly free as possible."

Davis said the university will attempt to persuade the Arizona Board of Regents to raise tuition to put the University of Arizona on a "level playing field" with other peer institutions.

He quoted other universities that are raising tuition by 10 percent to 25 percent.

"It's an affordability issue," he said.

Davis said the UA would need to increase tuition by $1,500 for in-state students in order to reach the level administrators would like, bringing tuition to approximately $4,000 a year for in-state students.

Last year, in-state tuition increased by 5 percent - or $142.

Davis said he would like to see tuition increases level back off to those numbers in time, but he added that with the current budget crunch UA is facing, a larger tuition increase is imminent.

This year, tuition is $2,490 for in-state students and $10,356 for out-of-state students.

But Davis said UA President Peter Likins is committed to raising financial aid as well as tuition to balance out the cost.

He said the Arizona Board of Regents is expected to take steps this year that would make managing tuition waivers, scholarships and financial aid easier.

Jenny Rimsza, co-director of the Arizona Students' Association - a student lobbyist group - said she does not have confidence in a high-tuition, high financial-aid system.

"Raising tuition would put more students in the needy category," she said. "I am doubtful that the university could come up with a plan that would cure that."

She said student lobbyists would only agree to a tuition increase if they know where the money was going. A recent proposal from a powerful legislative committee suggested diverting 50 percent of tuition dollars to cover a growing state deficit.

"I can't justify a tuition increase," Rimsza said. "We have no idea what the state plans to do with that money.

"We want to know what areas the tuition is going for and it's almost impossible to track tuition money once it gets to the state level," she added.

Davis said that as UA seeks to raise tuition, it is important to convince Arizona State University and Northern Arizona University to also seek equal tuition increases.

Sen. Marlys Witte proposed that the Faculty Senate discuss tuition at a meeting later this semester and take a formal stance on the issue to present to regents.

"The faculty's voice has historically been left out of these negotiations," she said.