The Board of Regents approved UW-Madison Chancellor Rebecca Blank’s four-year plan Friday to increase out-of-state and international tuition starting in fall 2015.
Undergraduate nonresident tuition is set to increase $6,000 by the 2016-’17 school year, bringing it to $31,523, while the international undergraduate cost will be raised $7,000 within two years to $32,523.
Some graduate school programs will also see a rise in tuition, including the School of Business which will receive a 9.8 percent tuition increase to all programs.
In-state tuition is not set to increase because of a previous tuition freeze by Gov. Scott Walker.
It is currently estimated that after the first year of implementation, the tuition hike will generate approximately $17.5 million, according to an online post by Blank.
Associated Students of Madison Nominations Board Chair Megan Phillips said she worries about the impact the increases could have on current UW-Madison students.
“I talked to a lot of people who may or may not have to be transferring because of the increase in tuition, so that’s a pretty scary thing to put on students,” Phillips said.
Out-of-state UW-Madison sophomore Abby O’Brien said she worries about the speed of the tuition change and the effects it could have on students.
“I didn’t quite think it would be this much so soon … especially for those of us who signed up as freshman, expecting to go here for four years at a relatively similar tuition price,” O’Brien said.
ASM Vice Chair Derek Field said Wisconsin has “long prided” itself for its affordability within the Big Ten conference, which he said allows the university to draw talented students.
Blank said in the post she is “confident” the nonresident tuition increases will not hurt the university’s ability to attract new students.
According to a UW System release, the increases will make UW-Madison’s tuition rates more comparable to other institutions.
“The increases are about market value,” said UW System President Ray Cross at the Board of Regents meeting Friday. “We’re losing out because we’re ahead in rankings [of our competitors] but are charging less.”
Andrew Bahl contributed to this report.
