This past week, UAH announced its decision to transition to block tuition beginning in the fall of 2014. The new structure, which will be rolled out over a three-year period for undergraduates, allows students to pay a flat rate per semester up to a limited number of hours instead of paying by the credit hour. "We have devised a plan to restructure our tuition pricing that will be financially advantageous for students to carry an increased class load," said UAH President Robert Altenkirch in a recent statement to AL.com. "The result can be a faster path to graduate, reduced costs, and an improved graduation rate for UAH students." During the course of the rollout, the per-credit-hour tuition rate between 12 and 18 hours will decrease for two years, ultimately reaching zero in the third year. For graduate students, the block structure will be implemented in its entirety this fall, making the per-credit-hour tuition rate between 9 and 15 hours zero and credit hours beyond 15 charged at a per-credit-hour rate. "From a recruitment standpoint, this is brilliant," says Nandish Dayal, president of UAH's Student Government Association (SGA). "If you're making plans for your future college education and you want to go to a tier one research institute with a Carnegie classification – and you want to do it affordably – then block tuition is perfect for you."