For once, I actually want my tuition to increase.

Now, before you go and start throwing rotten tomatoes at me, hear me out. For the last four years, the Board of Regents have increased tuition 10 percent annually, following a request from UA President Mark Hamilton. At the board's meeting in Anchorage on Thursday and Friday, regents will consider another increase. Only this time, it's got heart – if the regents follow through.

Hamilton has proposed a base 7 percent tuition increase starting in fall 2007. No doubt UAF students will cringe when they think about that. But Hamilton also wants the regents to explore going up to a 10 percent, with the funds from those extra 1-3 percentage points going to need-based financial aid. Each additional 1 percent tuition increase would produce $750,000 for a need-based program. And that, my friends, is why I'm happy.

Fact is, UA has for a long time over-invested in merit-based scholarships, which studies have consistently found tend to go to students with above-average family incomes. A $400-per-semester need-based program approved by the regents in February had an estimated cost of $1.8 million. The UA Scholars Program, a $1,350-per-semester merit-based scholarship, costs about $3.6 million. That's just not fair.

A recent report by the National Center for Public Policy and Higher Education chastised the state for its lack of need-based financial aid. Since 1992, the share of family income needed to pay for college expenses after financial aid has increased from 17 percent to 24 percent at public four-year institutions in Alaska, the report says. The center gave Alaska an "F" in affordability.

I'm a UA Scholar who gets a truckload of privately funded scholarship money every year. I've worked hard and saved and have money in the bank. But I also know UA has been kind to me financially and not to others. Frankly, I'd be more than willing to pay a little extra if it means someone less fortunate can afford to go to college.

There are some who do not agree with me. At press time, the student government, ASUAF, was poised to vote on a resolution denouncing the proposed hike. The resolution, which a committee endorsed 4-0 on Thusday, asserts that ASUAF believes a 10 percent increase "is harmful to the well-being of this university." Tuition increases contribute to student debt, the resolution notes. An earlier draft called tuition a form of slavery.

Honestly, I think that sort of sentiment is not just ignorant but selfish. Tuition does not hurt students if met with financial aid. I'm upper-middle class, and because of my scholarships, I didn't even have to worry about paying for books. Lower-class students deserve that opportunity for once too. And Hamilton's proposal could get us there.

The Board of Regents needs to approve a tuition increase with as much money as possible dedicated to need-based financial aid. Anything else would just be irresponsible.