The University of Alabama Board of Trustees approved a tuition increase on June 15 in an attempt to rely less on state funding, which has decreased by an approximate $174 million for the entire system since 2008.

“Each year, we work with each campus to come up with their recommendations, and, as you can tell, they vary by campus,” Ray Hayes, vice chancellor for financial affairs of the UA system, said. Hayes sees the changes as being significant, yet necessary.

“It’s just a fact,” he said. “The whole environment has changed in regard to having state funding.” The UA Tuscaloosa campus will see a seven percent in-state increase from $8,600 to $9,200 yearly — a $600 increase. Out-of-state tuition for this campus will see a 4.8 percent increase from $21,900 to $22,950 yearly — a $1,050 increase.

Hayes said the new changes will allow all three schools to continue to rank in the middle when compared to the tuition of other institutions in the Southern University Group, a cooperative of 35 universities in the South.

Scholarships involving tuition will increase proportionally to the tuition changes, said Kellee Reinhart, spokeswoman for the UA system.

UA Student Government Association President Matt Calderone commended the board of trustees on their decision.

“Tuition had to go up this year since state funding was cut this year,” Calderone said.