Month: December 2007

After years of slow to moderate tuition increases, Arizona’s three major universities are poised for significant jumps in the resident undergraduate tuition in the next academic year.  However, two of the schools are also trying novel approaches to keeping that tuition predictable over the course of the student’s period of study.

Arizona State University (ASU) in Tempe will raise tuition and fees for freshmen and community college transfer students by almost 14 percent next fall, but will then “cap” future tuition increases at 5 percent.  Resident undergraduate tuition at ASU for freshmen will go from $5,000 per year to $5,659 next year and then increase by no more than 5 percent per year thereafter.  Returning students at ASU will see there tuition go up next year by 5 percent.

Northern Arizona University (NAU) in Flagstaff is taking a stab at what is called “cohort pricing.”  NAU Regents plan to increase tuition and fees by 12 percent for new students then lock that rate in for those students for four years.  The ASU and NAU tuition policies are a significant departure from current practice whereby tuition rises at the same level for ALL undergraduate regardless of their academic class.

The University of Arizona in Tuscon will increase their tuition rates by 9.8% for ALL resident undergraduate students but the school is not offering guaranteed rates or caps on tuition for the future.

According to the Arizona Republic, student groups has asked each board to freeze tuition and requested that the Arizona Legislature kick in additional funds to each university so that each campus would have sufficient budget support.

Rep. Chris Strow (R-Freeland) who represents the 10th District in the state legislature (Island County and parts of Snohomish County) will resign his seat next week to take a fulltime position with the Puget Sound Regional Council (PSRC) in Seattle.  Strow told the Associated Press today that the heavy time pressure of campaigning and serving in Olympia was taking too much time away from his family.  He also cited the low pay for state elected officials.

Strow will replace Angela Kerwin who left her position as principal economic policy analyst for the council to move to California last month.  Angela was one of the chief PSRC staff members who worked on the Prosperity Partnership’s high demand degree package which was enacted last session by the legislature.  Strow is likely to continue that work as the Partnership continues its work to stregthen higher education budget and policy in the state.

Before his election to the state House, Strow served on legislative and congressional staffes including a stint as chief of staff for the then U.S. Rep. Jack Metcalf (R-WA).  His wife Mary Lane, is the communications director for Dino Rossi’s gubernatorial campaign.

This morning, Governor Christine Gregoire tapped state Court of Appeals judge Debra Stephens of Spokane as the newest member of the state Supreme Court.  Stephens replaces Justice Bobbe Bridge who announced earlier this year she would step down at the end of December to run a juvenile justice program.

Stephens, a graduate of Gonzaga University’s School of Law, becomes the first woman Supreme Court justice from Eastern Washington.  According to the Seattle Times, the appointment of Stephens is a bit of a surprise.  Most court watchers expected the Governor to appoint Appeals Judge Mary Kay Becker, King County Superior Court Judge Mary Yu or Hugh Spitzer, a well known constitutional law scholar.

Stephens will have to run statewide for re-election next November.