University of Alaska regents vote Thursday on one tuition rate per degree program

The University of Alaska Board of Regents votes Thursday on a new way to charge tuition: one price per credit, set by a student's degree program, in place of today's mix of course-level rates and extra program fees.

The new rates would start in fall 2027 at all three universities. They would also put into effect the board's August decision to stop charging out-of-state students more.

For most Alaskans, the change would be small. Most resident standard rates would move $5 a credit or less, according to the university's comparison. For out-of-state students who now pay more, the drop would be steep, 52% to 71% depending on campus and degree. An out-of-state undergraduate at the University of Alaska Fairbanks' main campus now pays $934 a credit. Under the proposal, that student would pay $312, the same as an Alaskan.

The university says the current system is hard to follow. "Right now, the complexity of surcharges and billing creates confusion and frustration," a September university presentation said.

Today, the University of Alaska Anchorage and the University of Alaska Southeast charge residents $251 a credit for lower-level courses and $302 for upper-level ones, and some programs add surcharges on top. Under the proposal, the surcharges would be folded into each program's rate, and the course-level split would go away. A UAA bachelor's student in a standard program would pay $278 for every credit, more than now for a lower-level class and less than now for an upper-level one.

Under the standard rates, associate and certificate students at UAA and UAF would pay $252 a credit, and UAS undergraduates would pay $271. Bachelor's students would pay $278 at UAA and $312 at UAF's Troth Yeddha' campus in Fairbanks. Graduate students would pay $549 at UAA and UAS and $577 at UAF.

Some programs would cost more. At UAA, aviation, business and public policy, and engineering would cost $277 a credit at the associate level, $303 for a bachelor's degree, and $659 for graduate business and public policy or engineering. At UAF, aviation, automotive, welding and process technology associate students would pay $277. Bachelor's students in business and security management or engineering and mines would pay $358, and graduate business and engineering students would pay $677. UAS maritime students would pay $340.

The university's comparison doesn't show what students in those programs pay now in surcharges, so it isn't clear whether they would pay more or less. The university expects the new rates to raise systemwide tuition revenue by less than 2%.

Among the standard rates in the comparison, the biggest increase for residents would be at UAS, where associate and certificate tuition would rise from $251 to $271 a credit, about 8%.

Resident tuition rose 3% for the 2026 academic year, after four years without increases at UAA and UAS and one at UAF. The board adopted a 4% increase for the current school year.

The out-of-state change was settled in August, when the regents voted 10-0 to charge resident rates to all students starting in fall 2027, including international students. Regents Chair Scott Jepsen said it "will help bring in students who may not have otherwise considered UA," according to a university release.

The university says out-of-state tuition makes up less than 1.2% of its net tuition revenue, under $1.4 million, because it's heavily discounted.

UAS dropped out-of-state pricing for undergraduates this fall. The university said out-of-state applications rose 18% and new enrollment 33%, though its proposed budget puts those increases at 17% and 21%.

The Faculty Alliance, made up of faculty senate leaders from the three universities, hasn't taken a position. Its chair, Andrea Dewees, reported in October that members support clearer pricing and more scholarship money, but have questions about what general education and preparatory courses would cost, fairness, timing, and how students and department budgets would be affected.

If the regents approve, the policy would take effect Nov. 6, and the rate tables would move from the regents' rules to the university's website.