Students enrolled at the University of Alaska System will see their tuition raised by 5 percent in 2021, a trend that continues the increases that have occurred annually for several years.
At the same time, the University of Alaska Board of Regents directed President Jim Johnsen to allot $1.5 million as financial aid to be distributed proportionally across the three campuses, in an effort to mitigate those increases for lower-income students.
The regents are meeting all day in Anchorage today on the University of Alaska Anchorage campus. Budgets are at the top of the agenda.
The discussion on the tuition increase lasted until midday, and included, at one point, an amendment to only raise tuition by 2 percent. That failed, while the 5 percent tuition passed with six regents in favor, and five opposed.
The UA system’s tuition is still well below the average of other universities in the western states.
The system is having to absorb over $70 million in budget reductions across a three-year timeframe, an agreement made and signed by President Johnsen, the former chair of the Board of Regents, and the governor.
The current tuition structure at University of Alaska Anchorage:
Using that tuition chart, a resident would pay $11.15 more per credit, or about $33.45 more per three-credit course. A 12-credit load will cost students about $134.00 more in 2021 than it does now at the Anchorage campus.