NAU president recommends lowest tuition increase in eight years

Northern Arizona University President John Haeger has recommended the lowest overall tuition increase among the state's three universities for the 2006-07 school year and the lowest in eight years at NAU.

Haeger has proposed an across-the-board increase of 3.6 percent in tuition for all NAU students. The NAU president announced his tuition recommendation today (Jan. 30), as did the presidents of Arizona State University and the University of Arizona.

"Our tuition recommendation addresses head-on the issues of accessibility and affordability that have dominated discussions about higher education in Arizona," Haeger said.

"Given the larger tuition increases of the past three years, I felt it appropriate to limit next year's increase to be more in line with the projected cost of living."

The tuition recommendation would result in a $152 annual increase for resident undergraduates at the Flagstaff campus and a $149 annual increase for resident undergraduates in NAU's statewide programs.

Haeger acknowledged that tuition alone cannot, and should not, meet all the needs of the university. "We approach this tuition recommendation in the spirit of partnership with the state of Arizona," he said. "In addition to our modest increase in tuition, we also have made modest requests of the state to fund essential needs of the university."

Haeger said the university's primary needs include:

funding for salaries, which rank at the bottom of all peer institutions for NAU faculty and which fall well below market for staff
taking care of deteriorating buildings that become more costly every year repairs are delayed
expanding NAU's Distance Learning program so that more citizens of Arizona can pursue a four-year degree at a reasonable cost
expanding initiatives to retain and graduate more students
strengthening teacher preparation to ensure top-quality education for Arizona schoolchildren

2006-07 Tuition Increases	Resident Undergraduates	Resident Graduates	Nonresident Undergraduates	Nonresident Graduates
Flagstaff	$152 3.6%	$164 3.6%	$463 3.6%	$476 3.6%
Statewide & Yuma	$149 3.6%	$164 3.6%	$463 3.6%	$476 3.6%

The total of recommended tuition and mandatory fees for the 2006-07 academic year are:

Undergraduate Resident (Flagstaff)—$4,546
Undergraduate Nonresident (Flagstaff)—$13,487
Graduate Resident (Flagstaff)—$4,898
Graduate Nonresident (Flagstaff)—$13,858
Undergraduate Resident (Statewide)—$4,381
Undergraduate Nonresident (Statewide)—$13,406
Graduate Resident (Statewide)—$4,817
Graduate Nonresident (Statewide)—$13,777

In addition to the tuition recommendation, Haeger also proposed adjustments to 39 existing course fees and five new course fees.

Increases in Class Fee Requests over $50 for Fiscal Year 2007

College of Arts and Letters
ART 161: Ceramics I, special class fee: $75
ART 261: Ceramics II, special class fee: $75
*ART 263: Hand Building, special class fee: $75
ART 361: Ceramics III, special class fee: $75
*ART 363: Ceramics - Glazing and Firing, special class fee: $75
ART 461: Ceramics IV, special class fee: $75
ART 462C: Ceramics Exhibition, special class fee: $75

MUS 480C: Lessons and Senior Recital, special class fee: $150

College of Engineering and Natural Sciences
BIO 205: Microbiology, special class fee: $65
BIO 220: Biology of Microorganisms, special class fee: $65
BIO 221: Lower Invertebrates, special class fee: $60
BIO 227: Intertidal Invertebrates, special class fee: $80
BIO349L: Molecular Techniques, special class fee: $100
BIO 401: Immunobiology, special class fee: $75
BIO 410: Phycology, special class fee: $75
*BIO 411: Mycology, special class fee: $60
BIO 414: Native Plants of Arizona, special class fee: $65
BIO 425L: Animal Physiology Laboratory, special class fee: $60
BIO 488C: Medical Microbiology, special class fee: $150

*CENE 180: Civil and Environmental Engineering, Computer Aided Drafting, special class fee: $75
GLG 602: Geology, Topics in Earth Science, special class fee: $175

Consortium of Professional Schools
DH 227: Preclinical Dental Hygiene, special class fee: $200
DH 228: Clinical Dental Hygiene I, special class fee: $200
DH 319: Clinical Dental Hygiene II, special class fee: $200
DH 320: Clinical Dental Hygiene III, special class fee: $200
DH 408: Internship, special class fee: $100
DH 425: Clinical Dental Hygiene IV, special class fee: $200
DH 426: Clinical Dental Hygiene V, special class fee: $200

NUR 190: Transition into Nursing, special class fee: $75
NUR 195: Pharmacology, special class fee: $75
NUR 208: Transition: Chronic Illness, special class fee: $75
NUR 211: Developmental Transition, special class fee: $75
NUR 212: Transitions: Acute, special class fee: $75
NUR 302: Baccalaureate Nursing Transitions, special class fee: $75
NUR 307: Nursing Assessment, special class fee: $75
NUR 350: Family Nursing, special class fee: $75
NUR 390: Nursing Research, special class fee: $75
NUR 426: The Psychiatric/Mental Health Nursing, special class fee: $75
NUR 427: Community Mental Health, special class fee: $75
NUR 444: Applications of Nursing Principles to Clinical Situations, special class fee: $75
NUR 450C: Advanced Applied Nursing, special class fee: $75

College of Social and Behavioral Sciences
PRM 331: Parks and Recreation Management, Outdoor Leader Certification I, special class fee: $175
*PRM 431: Parks and Recreation Management, Outdoor Leader Certification II, special class fee: $350
SW 408: Social Work, Field Work Experience, special class fee: $75

*New course fee

NAU and the other two state universities will host tuition hearings via interactive television on Feb. 27 from 5 to 7 p.m. The NAU site will be in room 137 of the Adel Mathematics building. The hearings also will be broadcast live on NAU cable channels 4 and 59.

The Arizona Board of Regents will vote on tuition and fees at its meeting March 9-10 in Tucson.