All boarding and tuition fees previously paid by Alabama residents living in the dorm have now been waived, according to ASFA President Tim Mitchell, who provided some insight into the new development in an interview with The Star.
The residence fees still apply to out-of-state students along with meals. According to Dr. Mitchell, this was something decided by the state that the school was unable to get around.
“The state funds ASFA,” Dr. Mitchell explained. “And our state legislators are very careful about how our taxpayer money is being used. They want that money to go to Alabama students, because the taxes are paid by Alabama citizens. And that’s why there’s an out-of-state boarding fee.”
Every year, ASFA provided a number of students with financial aid to live in the dorm. However, after discussing things with ASFA’s leadership team and former nurse and dorm advisor Mr. Jason Akins, administrators decided that the financial aid money could be redistributed in the school in other ways if fees were waived.
“We thought we could use that financial aid money towards something else, and we have. We’ve put into summer intensives. So money that had been donated in the past for financial aid is now available to help kids study across the country in the summer,” Dr. Mitchell said.
Dr. Mitchell first generated the idea. He felt that it would open up ASFA’s living space to an entirely new demographic of children all around the state, encouraging them to take a crucial step forward into a long career in the arts.
Dr. Mitchell said, “The dorm is one way in which [we at ASFA] try to make ourselves more accessible to a broader area than just our metro region, to families that maybe couldn’t afford the dorm. We’re hoping that this move is more attractive be more attractive to families that are coming from further away. We look at ourselves as an opportunity school."
Current students might be the last to hear about this development, too. Dr. Mitchell explains the many different ways this announcement has been projected all over the ASFA communities. It was previously in the parent newsletter and projected for incoming students for the 2023-24 school year.
Dr. Mitchell predicted this will be an exciting move for the dorm and expects an influx of residential students in the coming years.
“I don’t see a downside in making this change, and I don’t see a downside in students learning that it’s less expensive for them to be here, that they’re supported by the state,” Dr. Mitchell said.
Waiving dorm fees for in-state students is but a small part of ASFA’s strategic plan. The plan aims to move ASFA into a more accessible, welcoming school. The plan’s development began with meeting with students and staff in all different categories, listening with open ears about ASFA’s places of improvement.
Dr. Mitchell recounted those discussions and spoke a bit about the plans for ASFA’s future. “Students have had a lot of voice in what eventually became identifying the key strategic issues for the school. I’m looking forward to sharing the strategic plan with students, [maybe in] an assembly, hopefully before the end of the year. I think it’ll be fun and interesting, and for seniors, it’ll be a little bittersweet.”
As mentioned earlier, a lot of students commute to school from all over to attend every day. Now that dorm fees are no longer a means of concern, the dorm can’t wait to greet all of its newcomers in the upcoming school year. Applications to reside in ASFA’s dorm can be found on the school website.
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