The College of Architecture and Landscape Architecture announced yesterday that they plan to increase their differential tuition and fees.

Currently, CALA undergraduate students pay an extra $300 a semester in differential tuition for the last three years of their education, typically their third, fourth, and fifth year, said David Shirk, CALA’s business affairs manager.

The proposed increase for undergraduate differential tuition would be $1,000 a semester for all five years, Shirk said. Undergraduate students would see their differential tuition increase from $600 a year to $2,000 a year.

This means students would pay an additional $8,200 over the course of completing a five-year architecture degree.

Shirk and CALA Dean Janice Cervelli spoke to about 30 undergraduate and graduate students about the increases at a forum held in the Dinsmore Conference Room of the CALA building yesterday.

Second-year architecture student Rob Elcome said he already works 35 hours per week in order to pay for tuition and rent and that this new fee would present an added burden.

“”I understand that we need to pay for it, it’s our education,”” Elcome said. “”I’m going to have to find ways to pay for it … but it’s going to be hard.””

Graduate students in architecture and landscape architecture currently pay $500 in fees per semester for both years, Shirk said. The proposed increase for graduate students would be $1,400 per semester.

Students pursuing a Master’s degree in planning pay $2,800 a year, Cervelli said. But that could change, as the department wants to equalize all graduate students by making them pay $1,400 a semester.

Cervelli said the college has faced roughly a 20 percent cut within one year.

“”That’s like falling off a cliff,”” she said.

Cervelli said students would also have to look at paying a “”university-wide fee”” which could be around $1,300, Cervelli said.

“”I have been told by the provost’s office that (the fees are) going to the increased utility costs on the campus as inflation increases up each year, it’s going to go to better computer facilities for you all as students, and it’s going to plug the holes from the budget cuts in the library,”” Cervelli said.

But none of the estimates are definite and the UA has reiterated that its base tuition, excluding fees, must remain at the top of the bottom third in cost compared to other public universities, she said.

“”The university is talking about $1,300 total, right? I’ve got to wait until I know that happens and then I have to go back and look at what we can put on top of that and fall on the same place on these charts,”” Cervelli said.

Fee proposals are to be presented to the Arizona Board of Regents at their next meeting, at the end of the month, Cervelli said. Fee hearings should take place in April.

Hopes to expand downtown

Though students will soon have to grapple with increased tuition and fees, College of Architecture and Landscape Architecture is also looking forward to a possible downtown facility.

“”We are negotiating right now with Pima County and the city of Tucson around a downtown facility for our programs, for us to relocate some of our studios downtown,”” CALA Dean Janice Cervelli said.

Doing so would give students the opportunity to work “”on projects with the county and the state,”” Cervelli added.

Landscape architecture, architecture, planning, and eventually real estate development students would all be able to utilize the facility.

“”It’s going to be a really good central location, it’ll be a safe location, and it’ll be relatively convenient,”” she said.