Higher Ed Bargaining over redistributed tax dollars and tuition inflation
Universities of Wisconsin schools would keep in-state undergraduate tuition steady for the next two academic years if lawmakers hike state aid by $855 million of state dollars as part of the upcoming budget cycle, UW system President Jay Rothman said in a budget request Monday.
The proposed budget, which goes before the UW Board of Regents for a vote on Thursday, also seeks legislative approval — for a third time — to fund the Wisconsin Tuition Promise, a scholarship program for students from low-income families, and money to help keep the system’s remaining branch campuses viable.
The $855 million increase in state aid would put Wisconsin at the median level for state investment in its public four-year university system, Rothman said. For years, the UW system has complained that the state ranks lower than many of its neighbors in state funding per full-time student.
