UW System seeks another 5.5 percent tuition increase

Tuition would rise more than $600 at UW-Madison under a proposal released Friday to increase tuition at the four-year schools in the University of Wisconsin System.

Tuition would remain unchanged at the system’s 13 two-year colleges.

The recommendation by UW System President Kevin Reilly needs approval from the Board of Regents, which is expected to vote on it Thursday when it meets to approve the annual operating budget.

Reilly said in a statement that he would have preferred not to raise tuition, especially during a recession.

“In reality, that is not an option,” he said. “It simply is not possible to maintain the quality of our academic programs and the quality of our university experience without raising tuition.”

Kate Servais, a UW-Madison graduate student, said she didn’t think the increase was fair once students were “locked in” and are not likely to quit school.

“If tuition had been this price when I started, I don’t know whether or not I would’ve been able to go to school,” she said.

Other students were not pleased with paying more, but did not want the quality of the school to suffer.

“Obviously it’s not ideal,” said Angela Terrab, who begins her fifth undergraduate year at UW-Madison in the fall, “but we don’t really have much of a choice because of the way the state budget is right now.”

Graduate student Chad Masters said he already has taken out loans and is unhappy about the increase. But he called UW-Madison a top-notch school. “It draws good faculty, and our research is making good things happen, so I’m for it,” he said.

The two-year state budget that started Wednesday included a $250 million cut to the UW System’s funding.
Its flagship Madison campus would remain the most expensive under the proposal. Tuition would rise $618 to $7,296 for residents and $22,045 for nonresidents. The figures include a previously approved tuition surcharge of $250.

One year at UW-Milwaukee would cost $359 more it did last year, for a total of $6,890 for residents and $16,619 for nonresidents. The other 11 four-year schools would see annual increases of about $220 to $290.

The increases, excluding some campus-specific tuition differentials, represent a 5.5 percent bump, the same as seen in the previous two years. Already approved increases in state and federal aid will offset the tuition hike for in-state undergraduates from low- and medium-income families, Reilly’s statement said.

But Tyler Junger, chairman of Associated Students of Madison, UW-Madison’s student government, said the state keeps paying less of the total cost of education and leaving students to pay more. “Generally we take a view on tuition increases that they’re sort of a necessary evil,” he said. “At the same time, every time tuition goes up, it gets harder and harder for students to pay for the education they’re getting.”

Out-of-state students also will pay about $300 more in tuition at the four-year schools.

Tuition at the UW System’s 13 two-year colleges would remain $4,268 per year for residents and $11,252 for nonresidents.

Even with the tuition hikes, Wisconsin schools remain less expensive than many comparable schools, Reilly’s statement said.

State Journal reporter Devin Rose contributed to this report.

full story >>> WSJ

:: related