The state of Wisconsin is sweeping nearly $2.2 million from a fund at UW-Madison that pays for programs such as University Health Services, the Wisconsin Union, university housing and recreational sports, which could mean an increase in campus fees to avoid service cuts, an administrator said.
The state is taking the money from the university’s reserves to pay for student financial aid. In total, the state is transferring $23 million from similar funds at all UW System campuses to cover financial aid grants, including a new program that will protect families earning $60,000 or less from paying tuition increases.
At UW-Madison, the state will take about $1 million in student fees and the rest from sources such as parking, housing and dining services fees.
“We’re not anticipating direct impacts on service levels,” said Darrell Bazzell, vice chancellor for administration at UW-Madison. “Over time, it could have an impact on fee levels. We may need to recoup dollars to keep operations viable.”
That means it’s possible mandatory student fees will go up more than expected and dorm room rates and parking ticket fees will be increased, Bazzell said.
Tyler Junger, chairman of Associated Students of Madison, UW-Madison student government, said he hopes to avoid a large increase in student fees, also known as segregated fees.
“I think we’re going to do what we can to make sure segregated fees are affected as little by the sweep as possible,” he said.
Student fees are projected to be about $1,000 next year, up from $890 last year, in large part to pay for the construction of Union South and renovations to Memorial Union.
UW-Madison is not the hardest hit by the sweep. UW-La Crosse must give $3.5 million to the state from its reserve fund.