The Arizona Board of Regents has approved a policy that it hopes will allow more members of American Indian tribes to go to the state’s public universities.
Starting in January, students who are enrolled in a sovereign Arizona federally-recognized tribe will be eligible for in-state tuition. Up until now, those students living on reservations would be able to get the lower tuition rate, even if they lived on the part of the reservation that was in a neighboring state. Now, they will be able to get in-state tuition regardless of where they live.
The Board of Regents said around 4,200 American Indian students attend one of Arizona’s three public universities, either as an undergraduate or graduate student. A spokeswoman said while the board does not have a firm estimate of how many students may choose to enroll because of the policy change, it does recognize the need to increase educational attainment levels among that population.
