The UNA board of trustees increased undergraduate tuition by $13 per enrolled hour and graduate tuition by $15 an hour at their June 7 meeting.

These changes will go into effect fall 2017.

According to UNA President Kenneth Kitts’ resolution summary, increasing tuition will help counteract additional costs the university faces because of less funding.

“The Education Trust Fund appropriation approved by the Alabama State Legislature provided no additional operating funds for the University for (fiscal year) 2017-2018,” wrote President Kitts.

Trustee William Trapp said the increase in tuition is not to simply make money, but instead to keep the college going as funds decrease.

“You can’t grow and shrink, and we are growing,” he said. “‘We are growing in terms of the number of students we have, the number of academic programs we have and in terms of activities that we offer, and that shows up in (the) budget.”

The meeting also brought the approval of a “100% smoke-free policy” on campus, which prohibits faculty, students and campus visitors from using smoking products on UNA-owned and operated property.

The policy will go into effect on August 1.