Editor's note: This is the third in a three-part series examining the progress of Focused Excellence.

Within the next few months, we are likely to see President Peter Likins call for another major tuition hike.

Though he hasn't released a number, Likins has indicated that it will amount to at least $260, and could be much more depending on the tuition rates at comparable public universities around the country.

Especially after last year's $1,000 increase for in-state undergraduates, many people will likely see another hike as an injustice perpetrated by a university trying to become elite by pricing poor and minority students out of an education.

They'd be wrong.

Actually, the tuition hike we saw last year embraces Likins' concept of Focused Excellence, which prioritizes improving diversity while becoming less reliant on money from the state Legislature.

With higher tuition, the UA actually becomes more affordable for poor students, because the university can redistribute some of the money in the form of financial aid. In effect, this process can actually make it easier for poor students to come here.

Many of the dissenters to last year's hike either didn't recognize or didn't believe this nuance. But it's hard to argue with results. Despite the tuition hike, minority enrollment grew this year.

In the meantime, the tuition hike was also expected to generate about $14 million that can be used for hiring faculty and offering classes. That's money we needed but had no chance of getting from the miserly hands of the state Legislature.

Likins has indicated that he will call for a tuition hike that would raise rates to the 33rd percentile of senior public universities. Judging from the fact that public universities raised tuition by an average of 14 percent this year, it would equate to $700.

For the students poor enough to be institutionally protected from these hikes by financial aid, the amount shouldn't matter. But such a dramatic increase for the second year in a row might be perceived as dismissive of middle class students struggling to cover the costs of tuition as well as other expenses.

As a sign that he recognizes those students' needs, Likins shouldn't call for a tuition hike higher than $500. If getting to the 33rd percentile requires a bigger increase, the increase should be spread out over two years.