Ray Quintero ASUA President

Editor's Note: The Arizona Board of Regents will decide next year's tuition at a meeting Thursday in Flagstaff. In anticipation of this decision, the Wildcat asked UA President Peter Likins and ASUA President Ray Quintero to express their views on tuition.

Why should the students of the University of Arizona bear the burden of the state's budget shortfall? Why should the students be responsible for balancing the state budget? Why should non-resident students pay more for tuition than the actual cost to educate them? Why should the students who attend this university graduate with between $16,397 and $31,188 in debt?

These are all valid questions. It is the belief of the Arizona Students Association, the student lobbying group for all university students, and of ASUA that the answers should be a resounding - they shouldn't. We are all attending a public institution, and the state of Arizona Legislature that should be providing more funding to our higher education institutions. It is deplorable that this does not occur, and there is no tangible recognition that higher education is a priority of this state.

President Likins has proposed a 12.4 percent tuition increase for resident students and a 9.7 percent increase for non-resident students. This translates to $300 for residents and $1,000 for non-residents. Fortunately, President Likins has coupled this increase with an improvement in financial aid. The catch is that his financial aid shift will only provide a $200 subsidy for resident and non-resident students, and this would only be available to approximately 6,000 students who currently qualify for Pell Grants. What happens to the other 29,000 students? Until this question is adequately answered, students should not support tuition increases.

The cost to educate a student in this state is projected at $10,703 for 2002-2003. President Likins' tuition proposal would have non-resident students paying $649 more than the cost to educate them. Time and time again, the Arizona university system is criticized for having one of the lowest tuitions in the country. On the flip side, it is interesting that we have some of the best-ranked programs in the country including MIS and Law. After all, there is an Arizona State Constitutional Mandate that says, "The cost of instruction should be as nearly free as possible."

What does this tuition increase mean if approved by the Arizona Board of Regents? It means that the 67 percent of students who relies on loans or employment will increase. It means that the average debt of undergraduates and graduates will increase. It means that the current 35.5 percent of students who work between 21-49 hours per week will work more hours and/or continue to increase. Each of these factors reduces the quality of education received because students will have fewer hours to devote to their education.

The alternatives to the proposed tuition increase is to work with the state Legislature to secure more funding, grants and retain our faculty who bring in research dollars. This broader focus will far outweigh the 11 percent of the university budget that tuition comprises. We must lead this charge and force the university to follow suit before the needs of the university continue to not be met and the quality of our education depletes.

Students must support a zero-percent tuition increase and stop providing the Arizona State Legislature with an easy way out of supplying the university system with appropriate funding.