University of Wisconsin-Madison undergraduates from Wisconsin will pay $745 more during the next academic year, under a 5.5 percent tuition increase and new student fee rates approved by the UW Board of Regents on Thursday for four-year campuses.

 That means in-state UW-Madison students will pay about $8,300 in tuition and fees annually. Tuition and fees at other University of Wisconsin System institutions will range from about $7,700 at UW-Milwaukee, or $398 more than last year, to $6,246 at UW-Stout, a $307 increase. Mandatory student fees, which pay for things like student unions and health services, vary by campus.

"We’d love to have no tuition increase at all," said System President Kevin Reilly. "In reality, however, I believe that is not an option."

Reilly pointed to $120 million that the System requested but did not get from the state, money he said was necessary to continue operating at current levels.

Despite the budget challenges, low-income students and those attending two-year System colleges will be insulated from the tuition hike.

For the first time, students who come from families that earn $60,000 or less will not have to pay the tuition increases because of federal and state grants, Reilly said. In addition, tuition at UW Colleges, 13 two-year campuses across the state, will not rise for the third year in a row.

He called the 5.5 percent tuition increase "relatively modest" and in line with recent increases.

But Reilly said that campuses will "still have to do things they don’t want to do" to live within smaller budgets. For instance, faculty and staff members must take furloughs and students could face bigger class sizes or fewer course options.

The tuition increase, which was part of the System’s $2.2 billion operating budget, passed on a voice vote, with student Regent Kevin Opgenorth voting no.

"Every time we raise tuition we price people out of higher education," he said.

The $745 increase at UW-Madison is significantly higher than other campuses because it includes a $250 surcharge, intended to improve undergraduate education and provide more financial aid for low-and-moderate income students.

Nonresident UW-Madison undergraduate students will pay $1,245 more in tuition and fees next year, for a total of about $22,800.

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