The Arizona Board of Regents will hold a special study session today at the Arizona State University campus to address potential increases in Arizona university tuition for the 2011-2012 academic year.

Next academic year will be the first since the expiration of the American Reinvestment and Recovery Act, or federal stimulus act, which has funded more than $201 million in projects at the UA as of Sept. 30.

The documents the UA will present to the regents contain two hypothetical proposals for illustrative purposes, according to UA President Robert Shelton. One shows the financial impact of an across-the-board $1,000 tuition hike for all UA students regardless of level or residency, and another that displays the effect of a $1,500 hike.

“”We are still working with student leadership on tuition and fees,”” Shelton wrote in an email. “”I personally prefer a dollar amount, as opposed to percentage, since we all write our checks in dollars, not percentages.””

If tuition was raised $1,000 for all students, the UA would still face an estimated shortfall of $60.8 million. If tuition was raised $1,500, the shortfall would still be $50.9 million.

The UA cut $56 million from its budget last fiscal year.  

While there is no official tuition proposal in the UA’s documents, the UA said that for every $10 million reduction in state funding, tuition would have to increase by $500.

The UA has lost $100 million in state funding since 2008 and would lose an additional $67 million under Gov. Jan Brewer’s current budget proposal.

Shelton said support units and academic programs would have to be cut to address the shortfall.

The regents are expected to take official action on tuition during their meeting from April 7 to 8 at the UA.