I appreciate the board’s consideration and approval of ASU’s 2019-2020 tuition proposal.

As the importance of a university education continues to increase, it becomes more crucial than ever to ensure Arizona resident students have access to a high-quality education at the lowest cost possible.

To that end, I have extended for 10 years my promise that Arizona resident students’ tuition and fees will not go up by more than 3% per year.

This commitment to the people of Arizona is unprecedented in its durability and predictability. It allows students and families to plan for the future knowing for certain that their tuition will never be increased by an amount larger than they were expecting — and much of the time will be far less than planned. For example, in the seven years that this tuition guarantee has been in place, the increase has averaged 1.7%, including some years with no increase at all.

ASU’s tuition and fee guarantee has ensured that our costs for resident students are the lowest of Arizona’s three state universities.

Also, I appreciate the board’s thoughtful consideration of and feedback about ASU’s new fee structure. With today’s vote, ASU is set to implement in the fall 2019 semester a streamlined and simplified fee structure that will roll more than 6,000 individual program and course fees into four fee categories based on a student’s program of study.

Students and families have told the university that the complicated array of fees could use some streamlining. We agreed, proposed a solution, and appreciate the board’s adoption of this new, superior, structure.

Finally, I would like to continue to encourage the legislature of the state of Arizona to adopt a long-term funding model for higher education in our state. No one disputes that access to higher education can provide exponentially improved opportunities and outcomes for our citizens and our economy. Yet an investment in the students of Arizona, an investment in their success and the success of us all, remains elusive. Despite that, I remain optimistic, and I look forward to working with members on ways we can come together to support the citizens of our great state to become lifelong learners.

ASU remains proud to be the choice of so many Arizonans, and we will continue to put all of our energy and ideas into expanding access to higher education and reaching new levels of excellence for the benefit of the state, our country and the world.