15-1650.03. Arizona board of regents; resident undergraduate students; cost study; annual cost containment report

A. On or before December 15, 2017 and every five years thereafter, the Arizona board of regents shall conduct and complete a comprehensive cost study to determine the actual cost of educating a full-time resident undergraduate student at each university under the jurisdiction of the board. The board shall submit the cost study to the governor, the president of the senate, the speaker of the house of representatives and the joint legislative budget committee and shall provide a copy to the secretary of state. The cost study shall include a detailed breakdown of the costs associated with educating a full-time resident undergraduate student and shall include at least the following:

1. The use of instructional fees at each university, including differentiating between mandatory fees, program fees and course fees.

2. Differentiated costs between programs of study, including differential tuition and program and course fees.

3. The costs of faculty and administration differentiated between the amount of time needed to instruct students and to conduct research.

4. A breakdown of where tuition dollars are allocated, including the amount that is not directly attributable to instructional costs.

5. An analysis of the marginal cost and the average cost of a student depending on the type of program in which the student is enrolled, including online programs.

B. On or before September 1, 2018 and each year thereafter, the Arizona board of regents shall submit a comprehensive university cost containment report for each university under the jurisdiction of the board to the governor, the president of the senate, the speaker of the house of representatives and the joint legislative budget committee and shall provide a copy to the secretary of state. The report shall demonstrate the actions taken by each university to contain increases in the cost of attendance for full-time resident undergraduate students and shall include at least the following:

1. Historical data on tuition and mandatory fee levels and average on-campus housing and meal plan fees at the largest campus for each university during the previous fiscal year and fiscal years 1999, 2004, 2009 and 2014.

2. The number of FTES and total salaries of university employees differentiated between faculty, classified staff and administrators at each university during the previous fiscal year and fiscal years 1999, 2004, 2009 and 2014.

3. Actions taken by each university to contain costs at the university and the savings associated with those actions.

4. The allocation of faculty resources at each university based on the time needed to instruct students and to conduct other research activities.

5. The number of credit hours required for a baccalaureate degree for the previous academic year and the 2003-2004 academic year for the ten degree programs that had the largest increase in credit hours required for a baccalaureate degree between the 2003-2004 academic year and the 2017-2018 academic year, and between the previous two academic years.

6. Detailed information on nontraditional or lower-cost degree options that each university currently offers, has recently developed or is pursuing.