Board of Regents approve undergraduate tuition increase for 2024-25 academic year to keep pace with inflation

Tuition for Universities of Wisconsin undergraduate students, including students at the University of Wisconsin–Madison, will increase by 3.75% during the 2024-25 academic year under a plan approved by the UW System Board of Regents on Thursday, April 4.

At UW–Madison, resident undergraduate tuition will increase by $362 to $10,006 annually in fall 2024. Tuition for non-resident UW–Madison undergraduates will increase by $1,464 to $40,505.

Graduate tuition will not be increased. The Regents also approved increases in the tuition differential charge for undergraduate students in the schools of Nursing, Business, Engineering. More information can be found in the Board of Regents materials.

Segregated fees will increase for all students at UW–Madison by $35, a 2.2% change over the current academic year. Put together, tuition and fees at UW–Madison for resident undergraduates will increase by $397 per year, a 3.5% increase that is proportionate to the current inflation rate.

Universities of Wisconsin resident undergraduate tuition was frozen from 2013-23. The increase approved by the Regents helps the universities keep pace with inflationary operational budget increases and limited state funding.

Room and board rates at UW–Madison will increase moderately, with the average cost for University Housing going up by $200 to $7,633 and the meal plan by $150 in the 2024-25 academic year.

According to U.S. News & World Report, UW–Madison is the 12th ranked public university in the U.S., offering students access to the highest quality education with a breadth of academic and co-curricular activity. The current (2023-24) resident tuition and fees rate places UW–Madison 10th highest in the Big Ten; the nonresident tuition and fees rate places UW–Madison third highest in the Big Ten.

Sixty-five percent of UW–Madison’s 2023 graduating seniors did not borrow student loans for their degree, the seventh straight year the figure has been well over 50 percent.

UW–Madison is committed to making tuition affordable for students in need through programs like Bucky’s Pell Pathway, which provides Pell eligible UW–Madison students a roadmap to covering the full cost of attendance, including tuition and fees, room and board, books and other expected expenses.

Students who are the beneficiaries of Bucky’s Pell Pathway have all tuition and fees covered by this program, so this increase will not impact their costs to attend UW–Madison.

The adjustments to undergraduate tuition will generate about $26.1 million in additional tuition revenue to support the teaching and research mission across UW–Madison. The additional revenue will fund the university’s 30% share of the 2024-25 pay plan, higher health care costs, growing need-based aid, and providing new teaching and student services support.