Northern Arizona University will enter into its second decade of the Pledge guaranteed tuition program. “NAU is mindful of the costs for students and families and is focused on continuing to provide high-quality education for all Arizonans, preparing graduates with the skills they need to enter high-demand fields and contribute to the state’s workforce,” said NAU President Rita Cheng. “I remain committed to this important program as well as the accessible, affordable and quality options for earning a degree throughout Arizona and online.”
President Cheng has also proposed limiting fees to only new programs and at the same time continuing to eliminate class and program fees where practical. While many other universities across the United States have turned to this less transparent mechanism of recouping costs, NAU seeks transparency in its tuition and fee setting and utilizes a mechanism that allows students to maximize financial aid.
“I am proud to say that for the past two years, the university has made significant progress to reduce and eliminate class fees, and we will continue to do that this upcoming year. Through this multi-year effort, we will have eliminated more than 300 class fees and reduced the rate in 300 others,” Cheng said.
NAU is proposing three new undergraduate and three new graduate program fees for the upcoming academic year, reflecting the need to provide students majoring in these programs a high-quality experience, without shifting the higher cost to all students. In the case of the undergraduate program fees, NAU eliminated course fees to ensure the incremental cost to the student was minimized.
Working to keep tuition as low as possible, tuition for the 2018-19 academic year for all incoming undergraduates and all graduate students includes a moderate increase. If approved, total tuition and mandatory fees for incoming resident undergraduate students starting on the Flagstaff campus in fall 2018 will be $11,564, with the base tuition guaranteed for four years.
NAU’s resident graduate student tuition remains below the current undergraduate rate, and NAU continues to lead Arizona institutions in the benefits offered to graduate students. With increased opportunities through new programs and research, NAU seeks to adjust the graduate rates at all campuses to reflect our programming costs.
The university is also proposing an athletics fee to support facility improvements and student engagement programming on the Flagstaff campus. This funding will benefit the campus community beyond just the Athletics department. In adopting a $75 per semester athletics fee, NAU will ensure continued student input through an advisory committee tasked with recommending annual funding priorities and reviewing actual expenditures. By creating a dedicated athletics fee, NAU continues to work toward increased transparency in its approach to funding its athletics programs.
“NAU will continue to educate students to serve, lead and achieve. We will increase access to higher education and help shape our state’s workforce while remaining mindful of the costs to students and their families. This proposal helps us achieve all of these goals,” Cheng said.
The Arizona Board of Regents will consider all three state universities’ tuition and fee proposals during its meeting on Thursday, April 5, at the University of Arizona. Below is NAU’s tuition proposal:
Flagstaff Campus
NAU-Yuma
NAU Statewide
Personalized Learning
NAU-Yavapai
Online
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Public tuition hearing scheduled
Northern Arizona University will hold an interactive tuition hearing via videoconference in conjunction with the Arizona Board of Regents, Arizona State University and the University of Arizona from 5-7 p.m. on Tuesday, March 27.
The NAU hearing will be conducted in Flagstaff in Babbitt Administration Center, Room 206, and in Yuma at NAU Yuma’s Academic Complex (AC), Room 111. The hearing also will be streamed online.
Regents will accept comments via e-mail to the Arizona Board of Regents at tuition@azregents.edu; by regular mail, at 2020 N. Central Ave., Suite 230, Phoenix, AZ 85004; or by fax at (602) 229-2555.