Student representative groups worked together this year to submit a unified tuition proposal today, unlike last year when undergraduate and graduate officials were divided.
Ben Graff, student regent for the Arizona Board of Regents, said when two student groups on campus aren't on the same page, it damages students' credibility with the administrators and regents.
Graff said after serving as a mediator between Arizona Students' Association and the Graduate and Professional Student Council, he is glad the groups have put aside their differences for the sake of a strong student voice.
"This will add some legitimacy to the process, and there will no longer be any conflicting messages," said Graff, a third-year law student.
The student tuition proposal will be released today. The Arizona Board of Regents will decide next year's tuition on March 9 after a tuition hearing with student input is conducted Feb. 27.
GPSC President Elaine Ulrich said the collaborative efforts between GPSC and ASA were a must in getting the graduate student governing body to agree on a tuition proposal.
"ASA has been relatively cooperative. They have their things they want to get done for the undergraduates, but for the most part GPSC has crafted everything that has to do with graduate students," Ulrich said.
Work with ASA over past tuition proposals has been met with mixed sentiments, often causing the GPSC members to pull out of discussions because their voices waren't being heard, Ulrich said.
"We didn't like that they raised graduate tuition more than undergrad (tuition), so we vetoed it," Ulrich said. "We had no choice but to stand up for the graduate students."
This year, Ulrich said 86 percent of graduate students voted in favor of having a GPSC member on the board.
"If (ASA) wants any credibility, they don't have a lot of choice but
to work with us," Ulrich said.
The ASA directors said the collaboration on tuition creates a better understanding of where students' mindsets are and where some of that spending should be allotted within the university.
"It reflects the very nature that we're changing directions," said ASA director Fernando Ascencio.
Ascencio declined to give specific numbers because tradition respects the president's right to announce his proposal first.
- Stephanie Hall contributed to this report