Alaska university proposes tuition increase for fall

JUNEAU, Alaska – The University of Alaska Southeast and other schools in the Alaska university system have proposed increasing tuition starting in the fall to combat a decrease in state funding.

The 5% increase was brought about after significant cuts to the state’s funding of the University of Alaska system, the Juneau Empire reported Friday.

The increase would generate up to $500,000 for the university system and would apply to resident undergraduate students, university chancellor Rick Caulfield said. Students taking 15 credit hours of courses a semester would pay about $400 more each year, university officials said.

The cost of a credit hour for a freshman- or sophomore-level course would increase from $223 to $234 while higher level courses would increase from $269 to $282, officials said.

Only three students participated in a meeting scheduled for students to address university officials about the proposal, Caulfield said.

Teacher education, marine biology and science programs and mining and maritime-oriented vocational training are some of the university’s most successful programs, university officials said.

“Those are all programs that produce graduates that have the opportunity to go to work in Southeast Alaska,” Caulfield said. “There are programs that have smaller enrollments that are nevertheless critical to our mission at UAS. We want to continue to support the language programs and the Northwest art programs so they continue producing excellent graduates.”

The university expects to provide a 25% discount on occupational endorsement classes and utilize other methods to help with increased costs, Caulfield said.