Chancellor Rebecca Blank gave a State of the University address to the UW-Madison Faculty Senate Monday, which explained how the university will try to increase tuition for out-of-state students and continue to freeze tuition for in-state students.
Blank said in the speech, which was posted on her blog “Blank’s Slate,” that tuition is UW-Madison’s largest revenue source. She said UW-Madison in-state undergraduate students will most likely see another tuition freeze in the first year of the biennium, but the university is working with the Board of Regents and the governor on this issue.
“The governor has indicated he is at least willing to talk about a small adjustment in tuition in the second year of the biennium,” Blank told The Daily Cardinal. “From what I understand, we’re talking about a 1 percent cost-of-living change in in-state tuition, which would raise about $1 million for us. It is a good thing to do and we really have to get out of the tuition freeze. It’s a serious problem for dealing with cost increases around the university.”
Blank said in her speech that she is going to ask the Board of Regents for two years of tuition increases for out-of-state and professional students. This decision was made in order for UW-Madison to compete against peer institutions. Tuition will also be raised for professional school students, which Blank said is currently below where it should be.
“One of the reasons we are particularly tight is because we are putting more state money into [professional schools],” Blank said after her speech. “Those are all schools where people leave and make good incomes and the peer level for professional schools is just where we should be.”
Blank told The Daily Cardinal that she does not expect the tuition increase to affect enrollment. She said that the last increase had no impact, and numbers of out-of-state and professional applicants continue to rise.
UW-Madison sophomore and out-of-state student Nick Johnson said he is understanding but disappointed about his increased tuition.
“One of the reasons I wanted to come here was because it's such a great school, so when funds get cut I understand that they have to find money elsewhere to pay for everything we're provided,” Johnson said in an email. “However I strongly believe that educating the population will always be one of our most important tasks as a country, so I don't think it's very smart to divest money from our futures to try and save face somewhere else. I'd bet there was somewhere else the budget cuts could've come from that help Wisconsin less than the UW schools do.”
Blank said that she does plan to work with Gov. Scott Walker on ideas that Johnson mentioned.
“I would love to see more state money going into the overall budget,” Blank said after her speech. “I think it is very important we have a capital plan. Those are the two most important things. Not just maintenance money but overall money for buildings and reconstruction, which we had none of last time around.”
Blank said they will alter the enrollment mix as another tuition strategy. The Board of Regents has lifted the requirement for the percentage of out-of-state students UW-Madison is allowed to admit, as long as they have at least 3,600 Wisconsin residents in every incoming class. She also mentioned expanded educational programming, specifically the new four-week summer academic program, as a final strategy.
The chancellor detailed her second main focus, which is “making sure UW is a place where outstanding people want to be.” This includes matching compensation for faculty with competitor schools and adding block grants that will allot a budget to add staff raises and one-time faculty bonuses.
Blank finished by describing the action the university has taken to address campus climate concerns. She mentioned UW-Madison faculty have worked to improve diversity training on campus and that it is important for students and staff to engage in open dialogue about the subject.
“It’s going to take work by everybody on this campus to change some of the ways in which we interact, and some of the assumptions that we all make that limit our ability to be a truly welcoming and diverse community,” Blank said in her speech. “I hope you will all join in this effort.”
Andrew Bahl contributed to this story.
UPDATE Sept. 26 11:50 p.m.: This article was updated because a previous version mischaracterized the finality of the plan to raise out-of-state tuition.
