UA president opposes governor's fixed-tuition plan

University of Arizona President Robert N. Shelton stood alone among the state's three university presidents in resisting a fixed-tuition plan at the December meeting of the Arizona Board of Regents.

If Gov. Janet Napolitano gets her way, he will be forced to do an about-face and, if so, Shelton said he wants the chance to recalculate the 9.3 percent tuition increase Regents approved for next year's UA in-state undergraduates.

In her State of the State address Monday, Napolitano proposed two initiatives aimed directly at higher education.

One is a fixed-tuition program beginning this fall that would require Arizona universities to guarantee students four years of the same tuition when they begin college.

"The goal is laudable - to have predictability in tuition - but we also need predictability in the financial support of the universities," Shelton said.

UA's tuition increase for new undergraduates was the lowest of the three universities primarily because UA isn't locked into any version of a tuition freeze, Shelton said.

Northern Arizona University raised its tuition 12 percent for incoming students with the promise of no increase for four years.

Arizona State University hiked tuition for incoming freshmen about 12 percent and promised future increases would be capped at 5 percent for the next five years.

"Fixed tuition in theory is a great idea for predictability," said Tommy Bruce, UA student body president. "But there's no predictability in the economy of the state. I know the governor's a brilliant woman, but where is the money coming from? We absolutely don't want a positive initiative that turns into a negative because it translates into huge tuition costs for each incoming freshman class."

UA Budget Director Jim Florian said moving to fixed tuition would be "a huge problem" for UA if the state doesn't increase higher education funding.

The second initiative Napolitano unveiled was the Centennial Scholars program Monday that guarantees free tuition at any community college or state university to students meeting the requirements, beginning with the high school class of 2012.

Officials at UA and Pima County Community College were optimistic about the Centennial Scholars plan, although Florian again wondered about financing.

"Because the standards are more broad, it would be a lot more students than what we have now (on tuition waivers), which would be a great expense," Florian said.

Shelton said maintaining funding while increasing enrollment through waivers and requiring a tuition freeze would require an infusion of cash from the state.

"I applaud the governor for her initiatives and if she wants us to examine how we can (fix tuition) we certainly will," Shelton said. "But I have to have a stable funding source."

The current standards for receiving a Regents High Honors tuition waiver - also called the AIMS waiver - require students complete all required courses with a B or better in each course or have acceptable scores on Advanced Placement tests in those courses. They also must score high on the AIMS tests, have a cumulative GPA of 3.5 in required courses or be in the top 5 percent of their high school graduating class.

In contrast, Napolitano's plan requires only a B average in a "college ready curriculum," said Jeanine L'Ecuyer, Napolitano's spokeswoman.

Her plan has no AIMS requirement, but requires students to stay drug- and alcohol-free and perform at least 100 hours of community service during high school.

The AIMS waiver is renewable for four years of college if the student maintains a B average in college; Napolitano's plan also keeps that aspect.

Only 1,290 of UA's nearly 30,000 undergraduate students receive the AIMS tuition waiver, said John Nametz, UA director of financial aid.

Pima Community College Chancellor Roy Flores said he thought the Centennial Scholar initiative was "an excellent idea."

"Its implications for increasing enrollment are significant, and by increasing the educational level of the state, we will increase the wealth of the state," Flores said, adding that he thought the state would fund it.

L'Ecuyer said funding details are still being worked out for the higher education initiatives but the plan is not to reduce university funding.