The Arizona Board of Regents Tuition Taskforce recommended that ABOR indefinitely waive the restriction that state university tuition must remain at the top of the bottom one third of peer universities.

The motion to recommend the proposal passed by a vote of six to five this afternoon at the meeting held at the ABOR offices in Phoenix. The meeting was teleconferenced in the UA’s Harvill building and on the campus of Northern Arizona University.

UA President Robert Shelton said the current restriction is simply an “”arbitrary number”” and does not compare the university’s tuition to its true peer universities.

“”The peer group that we have is a nonsensical peer group – those 50 flagship universities – most of them have nothing in common with us,”” Shelton said after the meeting.

UA Student Regent David Martinez III said if the ‘top of the bottom one-third policy’ were revoked it would eliminate an important connection between university officials and the students.

“”Even though I am categorically opposed to that policy because of its arbitrary nature, I see that it did keep tuition low,”” Martinez said following the meeting. “”It was a process that held regents accountable and gave presidents a process in which to set tuition.””

Raising tuition is irresponsible given the fact that national stimulus money had been designated to “”mitigate the need to raise tuition,”” he said.

“”With the exemption to the ‘top of the bottom third’ policy there is no guidance for presidents in setting tuition, no accountability and there is no consideration about the federal stimulus package,”” Martinez said.

For a complete look at the tuition taskforce meeting, pick up a copy of Wednesday’s Arizona Daily Wildcat.