The U.S. government may penalize the UW System for tuition increases by eliminating financial aid programs, if a bill proposed by U.S. Rep. Howard McKeon, R-Calif., passes.
The bill, originally discussed last March, is now being considered as part of the Higher Education Act and will penalize colleges that raise tuition at double the rate of inflation for three consecutive years. Colleges that fail to work at decreasing tuition after six years may lose eligibility for millions of dollars in federal grants and programs.
McKeon, a member of the House Committee on Education and the Workforce, said nearly two million low-income students would be barred from pursuing postsecondary degrees in the next decade if college tuition remains unchecked.
According to McKeon's press secretary, Vartan Djihanian, this bill will increase the number of low-income students attending college by holding down the cost of tuition.
\Cost factors prevent 48 percent of college-qualified people from attending a four-year college ... the congressman believes that a college education should be in the reach of anyone who strives for it, regardless of family income,"" Djihanian said.
According to the American Council on Education, UW-Madison is among the 1,320 institutions of higher education required to decrease tuition if the bill became a law.
In opposition to this bill becoming law, UW System President Katharine Lyall wrote on Sept. 17 to U.S. Reps Kind, D-Wis., and Petri, R-Wis., objecting to federal financial aid being withheld from students.
""This is truly 'blaming the victim;' and in Wisconsin's case, blaming the victims of state budget mismanagement and deficits,"" Lyall wrote in the letter.
Rep. Tammy Baldwin, D-Wis., said the bill places the burden to decrease tuition on the wrong schools.
""It will penalize schools with the lowest tuition and reward those who have already raised their tuition,"" Baldwin said.
Critics such as The American Association of State Colleges and Universities objected to the bill, stating colleges in 36 states do not control tuition rates.
Djihanian said a solution implemented at the college level is preferable.
""The beauty of this bill is that it puts the power out of the federal government in decreasing tuition,"" said Djihanian. ""It's up to the schools to decrease tuition.""
UW System Spokesperson Erik Christianson said states, not universities, are at fault for exorbitant college costs.
""We don't think it fully states or comprehends the real issue about why tuition is going up ... [and it] fails to recognize what is the root cause... deep budget cuts.\
