Northern Arizona University has announced its tuition recommendations for the 2010-11 academic year, and half of the undergraduates on the Flagstaff campus will see no tuition increase.
NAU President John Haeger announced his proposed tuition and mandatory fee structure Friday afternoon for undergraduate and graduate students on the main campus in Flagstaff, NAU’s sites across Arizona, NAU’s branch campus in Yuma and the newly opened NAU-Yavapai in Prescott Valley.
For continuing resident undergraduates in Flagstaff who are not on the Pledge program (about 16 percent of the Flagstaff campus), the president has recommended an annual tuition of $6,350, an increase of $764 from last year. Half the undergraduates in Flagstaff will see no tuition increase because they are part of the “Pledge” guaranteed tuition program. Their tuition rates were set when they enrolled in 2008 and 2009 and are guaranteed for eight semesters.
Continuing non-resident undergraduates who are not in the Pledge program will pay $17,061 per year, $966 over last year. New non-resident undergraduates will pay $19,364, which will be a guaranteed rate for eight semesters.
For new resident undergraduates beginning in fall 2010, Haeger is recommending first-time tuition of $6,964, which also will be guaranteed for eight semesters.
All new undergraduate students automatically are enrolled in the Pledge program. “The Pledge program has been very popular among our students and their parents,” Haeger said. “We provide predictability in uncertain budget times.”
Flagstaff graduate students will see a resident tuition rate of $6,726 per year, an increase of $721, while non-residents will see a $17,500 rate, up $980. Graduate students are not part of the Pledge program.
The president pointed out that because NAU’s budget has been cut by more than $30 million despite record enrollment growth, the university must rely more on student support to maintain a high-quality level of education.
At the same time, however, Haeger said that NAU has worked to reduce considerably the cost of higher education for the more than 7,500 students attending NAU’s Extended Campuses, NAU-Yuma and NAU-Yavapai, which have different missions from Flagstaff’s research institution.
For NAU’s campuses outside of Flagstaff, Haeger is recommending:
- NAU-Yuma and Extended Campuses sites: resident undergraduates—$5,928, an increase of $539
- NAU-Yavapai: resident undergraduate: $4,313 (new campus and first-time tuition rate)
Seventeen percent of tuition is used for the Arizona Board of Regents’ set-aside for need-based financial aid, an increase of three percentage points since 2008.
Tuition recommendations also are accompanied by mandatory fees.
All full-time Flagstaff students—Pledge and non-Pledge—will see a $100 increase to a health and wellness fee, which began phasing in two years ago, and an $11 increase to the Arizona Financial Aid Trust fee.
NAU-Yuma and Extended Campuses full-time students will see a $9 increase to the AFAT fee, and NAU-Yavapai students will pay a $43 AFAT fee.
Flagstaff students also have proposed to the president two annual fees for the regents to consider: a $10 “green” fee to fund sustainable projects on campus and a $46 fee for undergraduates to fund projects proposed by the Associated Students of NAU. An advisory committee would oversee the ASNAU-sponsored funds and recommend expenditures to the vice president for Enrollment Management and Student Affairs.
The university also is requesting program fees for certain areas that cost more to deliver to students.
- The W.A. Franke College of Business: $250 per semester for students who have attained junior or senior status; $7,000 fee for the Master’s of Business Administration program, an increase of $3,500
- College of Health and Human Services: $800 a year for the bachelor of science in nursing; master of science in nursing–$40 per credit hour; dental hygiene–$800 a year and a one-time $500 on admittance to the program; doctorate in physical therapy—$1,800 a year for three years
- College of Engineering, Forestry and Natural Sciences: $250 per semester fee for students who have attained at least junior status in Engineering, Computer Science and Construction Management