Regents to address tuition

The Arizona Board of Regents plans to discuss tuition assessment during a study session at today's meeting, according to the meeting agenda.

Topics that will be included in the discussion include the draft response to state bill 1517, outlining criteria of differential tuition between campuses, and revisions concerning special fees for class, according to the study session's executive summary.

SB-1517 requires the board to report to the Joint Legislative Budget Committee and the Governor's Office of Strategic Planning and Budgeting on matters of tuition increases.

Med school plans on track

Plans for the UA College of Medicine expansion in Phoenix opening in July 2007 are on schedule, but there is still much to be done, said Regent Gary Stuart at yesterday's regents meeting.

"Arizona is the buzz in America," Stuart said. "Every college of medicine in America would like to do what we're doing, but we're the only ones doing it."

Stuart said there are no changes to the project scope or schedule at this point.

The board plan to submit a progress report on the expansion to the state Legislature by Dec. 31, detailing the expenditures toward the expansion to date, the status of the renovations of the historic Phoenix Union High School site and the progress of faculty, staff and student recruitment.

Research gets $119M boost

A five-year plan outlining the use of more than $300 million for university research and technology was also approved by regents at yesterday's meeting.

The Technology and Research Initiative Fund business plan was approved for financial year 2007 through 2011. The approval is big news for Arizona's three universities, said Leslie Tolbert, vice president for research, graduate studies and economic development.

The funding will go toward technology research and student training at Arizona's three universities. The UA stands to receive $118,938,631 in TRIF funds over the five-year period, according to the plan's executive summary.

The first five years of TRIF funding helped build the Meinel Optical Sciences building and the BIO5 institute, Tolbert said.

The money will also be used to integrate technology into the education system, which will benefit students going into the workforce, said Carl Fox, NAU vice provost for research and graduate studies.

"We don't want you to go to McDonald's saying, 'You want fries with that?'" Fox said. "We want you to work at Honeywell and say, 'You want megabytes with that?"

- Laura Ory and Nick Smith