OPINION & EDITORIAL
Cost disparity undermines UW
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by Badger Herald Editorial Board
Wednesday, July 17, 2002
By raising tuition 8 percent in response to lowered government funding, the university is acting in line with a number of other campuses around the country. But Gov. McCallum’s structurally forcing the school to increase the burden on out-of-state students is not. At a time when the university is trying to distinguish itself among other top-flight academic institutions, this sort of differentiation is hardly what UW is looking for.
Currently, most Big Ten schools charge non-residents about three times the in-state tuition and fees. UW’s ratio, however, is more than 4-1 and growing. The situation is more than just an unfortunate financial disadvantage for the out-of-state minority, though. The university wants to increase campus diversity by 2008 and also bring UW up to par with other top public schools such as the Universities of Virginia, Michigan and California-Berkeley.
Encouraging out-of-state enrollment is the most effective and immediate way to boost minority enrollment, since in-state students are drawn from such a high disproportionately white state (89 percent). By making out-of-state tuition costs more in line with its competitors, UW would be able to attract more out-of-state applicants, which would open the door for more minority students to apply and to enroll at UW.
In addition, we think inviting out-of-state students will help solve the so-called “brain drain” problem. Students who have already uprooted once to come to college may be more likely to settle in Wisconsin after graduation than residents itching to experience life elsewhere.
Two obstacles exist to prevent drawing a greater non-resident constituency at UW. First, the state budget, as edited by McCallum, prescribes that any tuition raises must include an additional 5 percent surcharge on out-of-state costs. State lawmakers must help increase the recruitment of non-resident students by eliminating this absurd surcharge. Out-of-state students are already subsidizing the education of in-state students.
Instead, the two tuition costs must be brought closer together. A high-quality, highly respected education is worth in-state students sharing more of the balance. To continually increase the burden on out-of-state students ensures an education in Madison will be increasingly unaffordable for the very students the administration needs to attract.
Secondly, responsibility also belongs to the Board of Regents, which maintains a cap on out-of-state admissions. This quota is firmly entrenched, and Wisconsin taxpayers deserve access to their state’s flagship institution, but the regents should consider adjusting the limit to suit their long-term ambitions. In the meantime, they and the legislature should find a way to give the desired out-of-staters an incentive to come here — like reasonable tuition rates.
