The University of Alaska Board of Regents approved President Mark Hamilton's 10 percent tuition increase request for 2006 on Wednesday despite student protest and opposition.

The board approved the hike 7-3 during their meeting at the International Arctic Research Center, but regents delayed voting for a 2007 increase until next year. Hamilton requested the increases four years ago, but regents had been hesitant to approve Hamilton's full tuition package at past meetings.

The cost of lower division courses will rise from $99 per credit next year to $109 next year, according to a university budget study. Upper division credits will increase from $112 next year to $123.

The only student on the board, David Parks from UAA, attempted a compromise with an amendment holding the increase to 5 percent. Regents rejected it 4-6 after Vice-President of Finance Joe Beedle told the board the compromise would leave out $3.5 million each year. Hamilton proposed the increases four years ago, requesting 10 percent each year. The board waited on the motion until last year, when it approved increasing tuition for 2005 and delayed an increase for 2006.

Double-digit tuition increases are normal in the Lower 48, Hamilton said. Peer institutions increased their tuition 15 percent this year, he said, while UA only increased 7 percent.

"The reality is we are farther behind than when I brought you this plan," Hamilton said. "We're just not catching up."

Tuition would probably hurt some students, Hamilton acknowledged, but the board could approve additional financial aid to help them. The need to fund research and construction outweighed the costs to students, he said, later adding that tossing aside the increases would significantly hurt some long-term planning.

To make up for the increases, Hamilton encouraged the board to look into financial aid solutions, such as providing students more information about the FAFSA. He cautioned the board against a university-sponsored needs-based scholarship program, calling it the "Robin Hood approach" as it would take tuition money and redistribute it to low-income students.

"My advice is, before you play Robin Hood," he said, "be sure you know who you're robbing."

Despite his warnings, board members seemed interested building a needs-based system comparable to lower 48 schools. Rogers cited need to research scholarship possibilities as a reason to vote only for one year of tuition increases.

The board will not vote on a final scholarship package for several months, and the university continues to research its options.

Students attending the meeting overwhelmingly disagreed with board members on whether a tuition increase was reasonable. About 40 protestors held signs and chanted outside the doors as regents entered the building Tuesday, and yelling became so intense that it could be heard through closed windows on the fifth floor when the meeting started.

Police briefly questioned some participants.

Many students presented their concerns during public testimony. "I'm not in any position to get student loans," Molly Odell, an undergraduate from Kodiak, said, noting that her parents are still paying off their own.

Thom Walker, speaking on behalf of the Coalition of Student Leaders, encouraged the board to look at the factors that don't appear in the charts, such as the single mother forced to bring her child to class.

When asked for numbers, Coalition members faltered, often offering numbers off the tops of their heads; Walker, for example, could not recall how much housing or food cost when asked by regent Frances Rose.

"It may not show in the numbers, it may not show in your spreadsheets, but you have to go with your gut," he said.

Walker noted that student employment rates have not changed in years while fees and rates have increased across the board. He also suggested that steady tuition increases might be to blame for this year's enrollment drop at UAF, forcing many out-of-state students to decide against coming to the school.

"Are we pricing people out of an education?" he asked. "While your 10 percent looks like only a small amount, it adds up."

Board members received the students' comments with mixed reactions. While some paid close attention to their remarks, Hamilton barely made eye contact with Walker during his speech, looking instead at his papers or brushing his pants leg.

"Basically what I heard was, 'Ignore the numbers, we don't want the increase,'" regent Joe Usibelli said Wednesday. Their presentations were "articulate," he said, but not "compelling."

At one point, board member Michael Burns rebutted a student arguing against the hike. "I think you are investing in the future," Burns said, and "we are trying to improve the quality of that investment."

Students protest outside the IARC Tuesday morning as the Regents meet inside. The Regents raised tuition 10 percent.
photo by Nate Raymond/Sun Star

UA President Mark Hamilton and Regent Chair Brian Rogers listen as ASUAF President Thom Walker (front) testifies about the tuition increases impact to students, during the Board of Regents session Tuesday.
photo by Nate Raymond/Sun Star

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