Tuition in Arizona's Community Colleges State Board of Directors for Community Colleges of Arizona Tuition in Arizona Community Colleges Arizona's State Constitution calls for public higher education to be as nearly free as possible, yet tuition has become an increasingly important source of revenue for the community college districts in Arizona and across the country. The following paper is intended to provide a broader context for State Board members as they consider the tuition rate requests of the community college districts at the April meeting of the State Board. College has become less affordable. In recent years tuition has increased much more rapidly than the median household income or the cost of living. Tuition has provided a larger share of schools' revenues as schools' expenditures have increased.
Tuition varies widely among states .
In general, schools with the highest average tuition were in the northeast, and schools with the lowest average tuition were in the south and west. There are a variety of approaches that have been taken to ease the financial burden . In one way or another, each of these strategies is being considered or used in Arizona. Some districts also receive State Equalization Aid, but this is intended to be in lieu of local property taxes. Additional funds may be available from gifts and grants and from accumulated fund balances.