Students in UW-Madison’s College of Engineering may pay higher tuition in coming years if the college decides to implement a differential tuition system.
The college held a meeting Tuesday at Engineering Hall to outline the plan, which will be proposed to the UW System Board of Regents, who will then decide whether to implement it.
“For the last four years, we’ve been looking at every alternative we could find,” said Dean of the College of Engineering Paul Peercy. “I’ve resisted putting in this differential tuition as long as we could.”
Peercy, who conducted the meeting, said the plan would require an additional $700 per student in the college each semester and that the remaining money will come from alumni donors. At this rate, about $3 million should be generated in additional tuition revenue.
According to Peercy, this money will go toward educational activities for undergraduates. Most importantly, Peercy said, the additional money will cover the cost of faculty and administration, which will be the target of about 50 percent of the additional revenue.
UW-Madison junior Craig MacKenzie, chair of the College of Engineering Tuition Student Committee, said the amount of faculty available is the most evident problem.
According to MacKenzie, some of his engineering classes have been cancelled because professors were not available to teach the class. He said he believes an increase in tuition would be beneficial by maintaining enough professors for all classes.
Although more opportunities may be available if the plan is passed, some students at the meeting expressed concern about the burden of the additional cost. However, Peercy said those who need financial aid would be provided for through scholarships.
Still, MacKenzie maintains that students need to look past the money they will be paying now and toward the benefits of the resulting engineering degree.
“The most important thing is the overall value of a UW engineering degree,” MacKenzie said. “The reason I came here is because I saw this as a high-value education, and I would be mad if I went through all this and didn’t get the value for my education.”
