Regents approve law school tuition hike

The $750 increase will be in addition to any university-wide increases approved when the regents set tuition in April.

Students arriving in 1998-99 will pay $375 for the academic year and the full $750 in 1999-2000 and in subsequent years.

"We think the funds will be well used," said Alan Matheson, Arizona State University's College of Law dean. "We think this is an appropriate addition to tuition."

The extra tuition will go to fund in-house law clinics that teach professional skills, to revamp the University of Arizona College of Law library and to provide students with more financial assistance, according to a regents report.

"This is essentially a need driven proposition," said Joel Seligman, UA's College of Law dean. "Every admitted student will have notice of the tuition increase."

The college needs the increase now, instead of in April, because its next accreditation review is in March, said Regent Judy Gignac. It will be too late by April for a tuition increase to help the law college's accreditation process, she said. UA law students, who paid $4,058 in-state and $10,710 out-of-state this year in tuition, support the increase, said Student Regent John Platt, a law student at Arizona State University.

"I visited my friends at the University of Arizona Law School and they are all aware of how the fee will be implemented," he said.

Seligman said the UA Law School Student Bar Association said in September it would support a tuition increase of up to $1,000.

Law students already pay about $2,000 more than most graduate students to maintain quality law programs and the higher expenses in providing high quality graduate professional education, the regents report stated.