A bill that plans to have the state of Arizona and its taxpayers split the cost of tuition for the three universities is in the works.The bill is meant to balance the pay for college tuition between two parties, so that it doesn’t fall more heavily on one alone.
The state only contributes 34% of the price of educating one student, according to the Arizona Capitol Times.
“The goal of SB 1518 is to get state support to $7,900 per student in today’s dollars, what the Board of Regents figures is half the cost of education,” the Arizona Capitol Times wrote.
As election season looms closer, some presidential candidates are announcing their plans for the issue of free college tuition. Elizabeth Warren and Bernie Sanders are both democratic candidates that have proposed plans for erasing the national student debt as well as making college free for everyone.
In Arizona, free college tuition comes in several different forms. While not everyone is guaranteed a free education at university, there are programs in place that help minority students and those who come from low income families.
“If college was free, it would allow people to choose schools based off the studies they offer and not solely on what they can afford,” American University student Nicole Narvaez said.
GoCollege found that nearly 70% of Arizona State University student body qualifies for some level scholarship money.
The Arizona constitution states that education, including universities, should be “as nearly free as possible,” to fight for a freer college tuition. Attorney General Mark Brnovich has sued the Board of Regents because of this, but his case was thrown out for “not having the legal authority to bring on such a case,” the Arizona Capitol Times reported.
Scholarships are available to highly qualified students that meet merit based requirements as well as students that can’t afford it. Although there are many opportunities for students to find grants, financial aid and scholarship money, sometimes that is still not enough.
Free college tuition would take the element of what one can afford, out of the equation.
Governor Doug Ducey of Arizona proposed a plan for free education for students studying to become teachers. Although that is not exactly, free college for everyone, it certainly is a start.
The program, which would pay for up to two years’ worth of education for students becoming teachers, was made to ensure that teachers stayed working in Arizona, due to a shortage of teachers in Arizona. The budget for the program planned to pay up to around $2.2 million for the 2018-2019 school year alone, AzCentral reported.