A new bill has been approved by a state house committee that would require Arizona state university students to pay an extra $2,000 on top of their tuition fees. The money will have to come from the students own pocket and can’t be paid for by a grant or scholarship funds. The goal of the bill is to make students take their education more seriously and not drop out of school, said Rep. John Kavanagh.
Kavanagh went on to say that $2,000 on top of the $9,000 annual tuition fee isn’t that much, even if you take into account the estimated $1,500 for text books. Another of his arguments is that an education helps graduates to earn an extra $500,000 to $1 million in their lifetime compared to those who don’t go to college, therefore the added $2,000 investment is well worthwhile. The bill excludes athletic students and those who are awarded grants for academic merit.
Many students disagree with the bill saying that costs such as insurance, fuel and parking bump the price of attending university way past the estimated amount produced by Kavanagh. Rep. Michele Ugenti answered that by simply saying “welcome to life.”
The bill has to pass through another committee before it actually gets put to the full house and introduced at all three Arizona state universities.
