(The Center Square) – A Wisconsin Assembly committee is expected to vote Tuesday on a bill that will cap tuition increases in the University of Wisconsin system at the rate of inflation.
The bill comes after three straight years of tuition increases that followed a resident tuition freeze between 2013 and 2023.
The bill moved through the Senate Committee on Universities and Technical Colleges with a 3-2 vote in October but has not yet been scheduled for the full Senate. The Assembly Committee on Consumer Protection will vote on the bill after a Jan. 29 public hearing.
A 1% increase in resident undergraduate tuition is estimated to be worth $9.7 million systemwide while a 2.93% increase would be worth $28.5 million.
“With the continued rise of prices in almost every area of the economy, some increase in resident tuition is to be expected,” Sen. Andre Jacque, R-New Franken, wrote in testimony supporting the bill. “It should be noted that Rep. Murphy and I have introduced this legislation going back to when the tuition freeze was still in effect and supported by elected officials in both parties, a point at which UW backers were thanking us for bringing this forward as a measured and responsible proposal.”
The University of Wisconsin argued that flexibility in tuition is necessary with specialized majors requiring different equipment and staff and costs can rise more in one specialty than another.
“The bill risks undermining the financial foundation for essential operational functions, including facility maintenance, debt service obligations, and competitive faculty compensation,” Universities of Wisconsin Vice President for Finance and Administration Julie Gordon wrote. “Maintaining flexibility in tuition-setting is critical to ensuring the Universities of Wisconsin can continue to deliver high-quality education, remain responsive to workforce needs, and preserve affordability and access for students across the state.”
Jacque, however, believes that protecting the costs for in-state students should be the highest priority.
“It’s time to prioritize students over bureaucracy,” Jacque wrote. “A statutory cap on future tuition and fee increases linked to inflation will provide students and families the ability to plan ahead with confidence for college expenses without continuing to be used to backfill budget decisions that avoid limiting runaway administrative spending.”
The bill would have to be passed in both the Senate and Assembly before going to Gov. Tony Evers for approval.
Evers recently told the Daily Cardinal that he was “somewhat reluctant” to have a cap but it is a “possibility.”
“It’s not that I’m interested in having people going broke because they’re sending their kids to college, nor am I thinking that capping is the answer,” Evers told the outlet.
