(The Center Square) – Wisconsin lawmakers are looking to limit tuition increases at the University of Wisconsin System to the consumer price index after UW approved a 5% tuition increase earlier this year.
A bill to limit the full tuition increase – which includes tuition and mandatory fees – will have a public hearing in Wisconsin’s Committee on Universities and Technical Colleges on Wednesday.
The fiscal estimate on Senate Bill 399 estimates that a 1% undergraduate tuition and fees increase would amount to $9.7 million while a 2.93% increase would be worth $28.5 million.
https://docs.legis.wisconsin.gov/2025/proposals/sb399
The University of Wisconsin waited until the budget process was completed in July before voting to approve a 5% tuition increase on its campuses in July. That timeline was questioned by Republican lawmakers.
https://www.thecentersquare.com/wisconsin/article_00a9d5da-1d55-499f-8bc7-0aa5cef4aad5.html
The new Wisconsin budget included a two-year $256 million budget increase with the schools receiving $1.13 billion in capital budget and $316 million for operational budget.
Sen. Andre Jacque, R-New Franken, is the bill’s primary sponsor and will testify on the bill Wednesday. Sen. Julian Bradley, R-New Berlin, and Sen. Van Wanggaard, R-Racine, are also sponsors.
“Wisconsin families plan budgets while bureaucrats plan tuition hikes,” said Sen. Julian Bradley, R-New Berlin, told The Center Square. “After the largest funding boost in nearly 20 years, the UW System is raising tuition for the third straight year.
“Those same Wisconsin families are now paying twice, once through taxes and again through tuition. Hopefully the Evers/Rodriguez administration will support this bill, restoring some level of predictability and protecting affordability.”
The fiscal estimate from the University of Wisconsin System noted that the cap on fees means that some programs would not be “self-supporting” due to “pay plan, fringe benefits, facilities maintenance and debt service payments.”
The UW System also said that different schools often have differing tuition increases.
“This bill does not account for necessary flexibility in determining tuition in any given year,” the fiscal estimate said. “For example, the BOR currently considers campus-specific needs, programmatic cost differences, and other sources of revenue in determining an individual campus’s tuition rate. Tuition increases are not necessarily uniform across our 13 universities.”
The July increase included a base 4% undergraduate tuition increase with an optional 1% increase that will be used by all of the schools except UW-Green Bay. UW-River Falls saw a 5.8% increase.
The committee will also hear Senate Bill 532, which would block online course fees from being charged unless the fee is set to go directly to cover actual costs to the school for offering the course online.
The Center Square was unable to reach Jacque for comment before publication.
