TUCSON, Ariz. (KGUN9) — Tuition at Arizona's three universities is about to go up. Thursday afternoon, the Arizona Board of Regents (ABOR) voted in favor of increasing tuition for the universities.
The University of Arizona will raise tuition by 2% for all new in-state students. Those out of state students will see an increase of more than 5.6%.
Arizona State University resident tuition is increasing 2.5 %, for out-of-state students it will increase more than 4%.
Northern Arizona University will charge an increased fee to students, but keep tuition the same for in-state residents. For international students, they'll see a 7.4% increase.
“The board recognizes any increase in tuition has an impact on Arizona students and families, but we are pleased that the presidents’ proposals included only modest added costs in 2022-23,” said ABOR Chair Lyndel Manson. “The proposals demonstrate the joint commitment of the presidents to prioritize Arizona, access and quality while shielding resident students to the greatest extent possible from extraordinary inflationary cost pressures.”
As tuition increases across our state, a new study finds many teens are feeling unprepared to finance their futures.
With an estimated $1.6 trillion in student debt held by the federal government, many American households are having to deal with student loans in some way.
President Joe Biden announced this week an extension to a pause on payments for federal student loans until Wednesday, August 31.
"So, we recently surveyed 1,000 teens, and what surprised us was over half let us know that they felt financially unprepared for their futures," Development Officer with Junior Achievement of Arizona Carolyn Gorst shared.
She says their non-profit works to educate students financially, preparing them for life after graduation.
"What we have found out from our students survey is over 40% told us they have not received financial literacy education," Gorst revealed. "And as we know, many homes don't talk to their kids about money and savings and budgeting."
Vanessa Alfaro from OneAZ Credit Union says when working to pay off student loans you should check all of your options on repayment plans.
"Tips for paying off any debt including student loans and credit cards that you might accumulate as a student and during that time, would be again paying off those principal balances starting with the smaller balances first," Alfaro explained. "So, that you can free up some of those monthly expenses and start applying that extra money towards the additional loan balances that you have."
Another great resource is the Federal Student Aid website.
It offers several loan forgiveness programs and different payment plans based on your income to make it affordable for you.
The way to choose a plan that works best is to contact your loan provider.
Anyone interested in a full breakdown of universities' increases, may do so through the ABOR's website.
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Denelle Veselik is an anchor and investigative reporter for KGUN 9. It's been her dream to tell your stories for the past decade. She is extremely curious and wants to continue to use her storytelling for the greater good. Share your story ideas and important issues with Denelle by emailing denelle.veselik@kgun9.com or by connecting on Facebook, Instagram and X/Twitter.
