Dean of Students Lori Berquam released a proposal Monday detailing a tuition increase for nonresident and international undergraduate students and for several graduate programs at UW-Madison.
The proposed tuition increases range from slightly more than $1,000 to as much as $5,000 in some cases.
Nonresident undergraduate tuition is proposed to increase by $10,000 over the next four years, raising by $3,000 each year for the first two years and $2,000 each year for the last two years. International undergraduate tuition will similarly increase by $11,000 by the 2018-’19 school year.
Associated Students of Madison Chair Gen Carter said these large-scale increases are troubling and reflect a country-wide fiscal trend.
“[The increases] reflect a broader trend across the United States and certainly in Wisconsin of this lack of investment from the state and choosing to put that lost funding on the backs of students,” Carter said.
In keeping with Gov. Scott Walker’s tuition freeze for in-state undergraduate tuition, no tuition increases are proposed for this group.
Carter, however, suspects the requested hikes will lead to in-state tuition increases once the tuition freeze ends in 2017.
“This is just the first step, just the first domino in the domino effect of really negative changes,” Carter said.
The proposal compares UW-Madison with other Big Ten schools, arguing current tuition levels at UW-Madison fall well below other institutions of its size and quality.
“The university is seeking to set nonresident tuition at market rates,” the proposal said. “This will allow us to reduce our structural deficit, maintain quality in our educational programs, and cross-subsidize lower tuition for in-state students.”
Carter denounced this comparison and said UW-Madison is situated in the middle of Big Ten tuition pricing. She also criticized UW administration for neglecting to give detailed outlines of where the extra money from raised tuition will go, saying she has received “I don’t know” and “to academic programming” in general as answers.
Senior animal sciences major Megan Mezera said she is unsure of where the revenue will go and by how much tuition is expected to increase. As a prospective Veterinary Medicine student, Mezera has reconsidered applying to UW-Madison’s graduate veterinary medicine program in the face of a $5,000 per year increase for nonresident students.
Mezera said she hopes revenue generated from the tuition hikes will fund academic programming and improving the curriculum, although she said she has her doubts.
The proposed hikes come just before Walker’s biennial budget is expected to pass this June, with budget cuts to the UW System potentially reaching $300 million.
Increases to graduate program tuition include the Global Real Estate Master’s, School of Business, Doctor of Pharmacy, Doctor of Medicine, Veterinary Medicine and Doctor of Nursing Practice graduate programs.
The Board of Regents will consider the proposal Thursday.
