Madison tuition hike: 8.4 percent

Annual resident undergraduate tuition rates for the 2001-02 academic year will increase by 8.4 percent.

Resident tuition will increase by 7 percent at 11 UW System comprehensive campuses and the 13 UW Colleges. At UW–Madison and UW-Milwaukee, tuition for resident undergraduate students will increase by the same 7 percent, with another 1.4 percent added to fund a portion of the Madison Initiative public-private partnership and Milwaukee Idea program.

That amounts to a $139 per semester increase at UW–Madison and a $134 per semester increase at UW-Milwaukee. The total does not include segregated fees, which vary from campus to campus.

“These increases are consistent with the modest tuition increases of the past decade,” says UW System President Katharine Lyall. “Among the public Big Ten universities, the annual increase at UW–Madison for the coming year is the third smallest. This follows a year in which tuition was frozen systemwide for resident, undergraduate students. Despite these increases, tuition in the UW System remains affordable, and our commitment to a high degree of student access remains strong.”

The UW System Board of Regents approved the increases at meetings last week.

UW–Madison’s resident undergraduate tuition has increased an average 6.2 percent a year over the past 10 years. Madison resident undergraduate tuition remains lower than most other Big 10 universities and this year’s $278 annual hike is one of the smallest among Big 10 schools, which plan to raise their tuition from $186 to $686 over last year, according to UW System statistics.

For 2001-02, UW–Madison’s total tuition and segregated fees of $4,085 will be $935 below the mid-point for the other public Big Ten universities. During 2000-01, UW–Madison tuition and fees were $901 below the mid-point. Other public Big Ten universities have much more tuition and fee funding available per student than does UW–Madison, and the disparity is growing, UW System officials say.

Because a state budget for the new biennium has not yet been adopted, the board acted based on the best available assumptions about state funding increases. Traditionally, the board sets annual tuition levels in July, so that tuition bills for the fall semester can be calculated, printed and mailed to more than 150,000 students.

The total UW System operating budget for the coming year will be $3.351 billion, less than one-third of which is funded by state tax dollars. Another 16 percent comes from tuition, while the remaining 51 percent comes from other sources, such as room and board and gifts and grants.

The board also set tuition levels for graduate students, non-resident students, and students in various other categories. The board also established segregated fees — which vary from campus to campus — and room and board rates.

At the 11 comprehensive campuses, total tuition and segregated fees during 2001-02 will range from $3,648 at UW-Green Bay to $3,225 at UW-Oshkosh. At the 13 UW Colleges, the range will be from $2,657 at UW-Richland to $2,569 at UW-Marinette.

Systemwide, room and board rates will increase by an annual average of $186 (5.2 percent). Total room and board costs (for the most popular meal plan) during 2001-02 will be $4,823 at UW–Madison.

The annual operating budget for the 2001-02 includes a base budget reduction of $6.345 million, as proposed by the governor and approved by the legislature’s Joint Committee on Finance. The reduction is being allocated among the institutions based on principles adopted by the Board of Regents in April, and ranges from $2.4 million at UW–Madison to $91,107 at UW-Superior. More than two-thirds of the reduction comes from salaries and fringe benefits, and about half of the total comes from instruction, which is the largest state-funded component of the UW System’s budget.

“We were given flexibility in deciding what should be cut,” says Lyall, “but the cut will be felt at every campus. Some vacant faculty positions will be filled by lower-salaried instructional academic staff. There may be a reduction in some course options and larger class sizes. We made a commitment not to cut enrollment, and we are keeping that commitment.”

Pending approval by the Legislature’s Joint Committee on Employment Relations, the annual operating budget will phase in an average annual compensation increase of 4.2 percent for 2001-02, an amount approved by the Board of Regents last December. The budget plans for half of the increase to be payable starting July 1, 2001, with the other half payable starting Jan. 1, 2002.

Because the final state budget figures are not yet known, the Board of Regents authorized Lyall to bring forward a supplemental tuition increase plan “if the final budget contains significant additional unfunded cuts or further base reductions/lapses beyond the $6.345 million” already proposed. The executive committee will be authorized to act on such a plan, on behalf of the full Board of Regents, should it become necessary.