(The Center Square) – There’s going to be a building boom on some University of Wisconsin campuses across the state.
Gov. Tony Evers on Wednesday signed a new law that clears the way for a new engineering building at UW-Madison, as well as classroom renovations in both Madison and Whitewater. The new law also includes nearly $200 million for central plant renovations and demolition projects.
“Investing in Wisconsin’s world-class higher education institutions, including our UW System, is critical for doing what’s best for our kids and helping us recruit, train, and retain talented students to help address the workforce challenges that have plagued our state for generations,” the governor said in a statement.
In all, the UW will get $700 million for construction projects,
The other part of the new law will send more tuition money to campuses.
Currently Wisconsin allows Minnesota students to attend UW school without having to pay out-of-state tuition. Some of the tuition dollars from those Minnesota students have, for years, gone straight to the state. Under the new law signed Wednesday, those Minnesota student’s tuition dollars will now go directly to the UW campus that they attend.
UW-Madison Chancellor Jennifer Mnookin said that change will directly benefit her campus but will also help other UW schools by eliminating a layer of state bureaucracy.
“The changes approved to Minnesota-Wisconsin tuition reciprocity will provide millions in needed tuition dollars to Universities of Wisconsin institutions, including ours, that had previously been deposited in the state’s General Fund,” Mnookin explained. “Under the new tuition reciprocity bill, that money would instead be retained by the UW institutions providing the education. This will have a significant impact for campuses, including UW—Madison, and allow for more investment in educating the students we serve from both states.”
Other campuses, like UW-River Falls which is just over the border with Minnesota, say the reciprocity change will be worth millions.
