With tuition continues to increase across the nation, a large majority students are turning to financial aid and scholarships in order to pay for their education, at least in part.
Some students use the entire sum of money they receive from grants or other aids to pay for tuition. And if a new law passes in Arizona, such students might not be able to afford school any longer.
Lawmakers in Arizona have proposed a bill that would require some in-state students at ASU, NAU and UA to pay a portion of their tuition without the assistance of scholarships or grants.
House Bill 2675, proposed by Rep. John Kavanagh, R-Fountain Hills, would require all public Arizona university full-time students to contribute at least $2,000 of their annual tuition, without the assistance of money funded by a university or university affiliate.
Part-time, in-state students would pay an amount proportional to their credit hours.
Students who are registered for at least 12 credit hours during a semester are considered full time, with students carrying less than that considered part time.
According to HB 2675, a student may not use any “source of public or private funding, including grants, gifts, scholarships or tuition benefits, or other types of funding administered by or through a university or an affiliate of a university.”
However, up to 5 percent of first-time undergraduates who pay for school using a competitive, national merit-based or athletic scholarship wouldn’t have to pay the $2,000. The bill exempts scholarships based “solely on academic merit or solely on a special aptitude, talent or ability from a competitive national program.”
Arizona Board of Regents spokeswoman Katie Paquet told the State Press that while the Board is still reviewing the full impact of the bill, they have voted to oppose it.
“Our initial response is that it would have a negative impact on students’ educations,” Paquet said.
The bill has not yet been assigned to a committee, where lawmakers would debate the bill and decide whether to approve it for full floor discussion.
