No tuition increase for in-state students at ASU, NAU & UArizona for next school year

Northern Arizona University

• No resident tuition increase.
• Continues the Pledge guarantee program with most continuing undergraduate students seeing zero increase in tuition and mandatory fees.
• Establishes a 0.5% increase in tuition for new undergraduate non-resident students on the Pledge program and a 3% increase for students not on the Pledge program.
• Increases online tuition per credit hour rate by 4.6% for undergraduate students.
• Establishes five new graduate program fees and one new undergraduate program fee.

University of Arizona

• No resident tuition increase.
• Continues the Tuition Guarantee Program ensuring the majority of continuing undergraduate students will have no tuition or mandatory fee increases.
• Increases tuition 3% for new resident College of Medicine students.
• Establishes tuition of $45,000 per year for resident and $69,999 for non-resident students for the inaugural year of the College of Veterinary Medicine.
• Increases one differential undergraduate tuition (2020-21 academic year only), one undergraduate program, six class and an events board fee; establishes a new global study and eight new class fees.

Looking forward, ABOR also says that Arizona State University will continue its commitment to hold tuition increases to 3% or less for resident students in future years, and that NAU and UArizona will continue to have tuition guarantees that provide students with predictable rates.

Even without tuition hikes, the cost of college is still high. But ABOR reminds the public that financial aid is readily available for our state's universities. Arizona's public universities provided $863.3 million in fiscal year 2019 for students to earn their degrees, ABOR said. Around 76% of undergraduate students receive some type of financial aid.

"It is excellent news for our resident students who will have zero increase in tuition for the coming year. We're committed to increasing educational attainment among Arizonans, especially during this challenging time when so many are out of work. Earning a degree provides so many benefits for individuals including higher wages, lower unemployment rates and better quality of life," said ABOR Executive Director John Arnold.

In setting tuition rates, the board considers numerous factors including student input; the amount of state support provided to the university system; revenues generated from tuition and fees; cost of attendance and median family income; the availability of student financial aid; the tuition of peer universities across the country; and resources required to meet the universities' performance goals.

A university spokesperson told us that no, tuition would not be refunded because the university has continued to operate at "full capacity delivered in a different mode."

The COVID-19 crisis prompted all three universities to finish out the semester in an online format. At the end of April, the three schools announced they were planning to resume in-person classes for the fall semester.