UW-System To Raise In-State Tuition Costs For The First Time In Ten Years

Wisconsin students who chose to utilize one of the in-state campuses of the UW-System have historically gotten a break on their tuition costs; the overall rate is reduced from what someone who doesn't live in the state gets.

While that system of affordability will remain in place, in-state residents could see their tuition costs go up in the future.

For the first time in ten years - the first time since a tuition freeze - school officials are seeking an increase that would be applicable to Wisconsin residents. Multiple news sources are reporting that UW-System President Jay Rothman is seeking a 5% increase for the cost of in-state tuition.

The increase is estimated to add about $38 million in extra operating revenue for the university system. Rothman explains that the additional finances are needed for the budget:

"This modest tuition increase will help our universities continue to provide students with a world-class education, produce the talent that Wisconsin's workforce needs to succeed and spark innovation and vitality in our communities."

Rothman added that the increase would help with "the long term financial viability of....[the] universities and to sustain the quality of education".

In-state tuition within the UW-System has been frozen in place since 2013, when Republican lawmakers legislated the move in the face of a budgetary surplus. The 2013-2015 budget showed that the system "had nearly $650 million in reserve funds, largely from unspent tuition money". That tuition freeze ended two years ago, returning the right to set tuition back to the universities board of regents.

In addition to the overall in-state tuition freeze, general tuition costs at the UW-System's two year universities "has been frozen for much of the past 16 years".

According to examples shared by a variety of media sources, in-state tuition ranges from "$4,750 annually at the two-year schools to $9,725 at UW-Madison, the state's flagship university".