UW-Madison prides itself for being one of the premier state schools in the nation. Data released by the university Friday, however, highlights just how much support the school needs from students outside of Wisconsin.
Of the 7,521 new freshman and transfer students on campus this fall, more than 32 percent are from states other than Wisconsin or Minnesota, or from outside the country. Out-of-state students pay more than three times as much in tuition compared to in-state students.
Prior to last year, the university had a cap of 27.5 percent on the number of nonresidential students it accepted, based on a three-year rolling average. The Board of Regents lifted that cap last year, however, and replaced it with a commitment to enroll at least 3,600 Wisconsin students annually.
There were 3,671 new students from Wisconsin in the fall class.
“As Wisconsin’s flagship university, we are committed to welcoming a class that both grows in diversity and maintains a strong representation of our state’s students,” said Steve Hahn, vice provost for enrollment management, in a university release.
The growing out-of-state numbers coincide with an address Chancellor Rebecca Blank gave to faculty last week, in which she discussed raising out-of-state tuition.