Last Thursday, the University of Wisconsin Board of Regents' Business, Finance and Audit Committee assembled to discuss lowering nonresident student tuition and adjusting UW executive salaries. The committee voted and concluded 5-1 that the tuition decrease will take effect at every UW campus except UW-Madison for the 2006-07 school year and made a unanimous decision to raise pay ranges for top administrative positions that will take be effective July 1, 2006. On Monday, Rep. Stephen Nass, R-Whitewater, announced plans to introduce a bill that would limit the arranged salary increases proposed by the Board.
The two issues here reflect very different subjects. The resolution on tuition will benefit UW schools in more ways than one. First off, the draw to UW schools will increase for out-of-state students while not decreasing the number of in-state students.
"It's a win-win situation for the UW System, for the state and students," UW System assistant vice president for budget and planning Freda Harris told The Badger Herald. "This is a strategy that is a way to increase access for students at no cost to the state."
UW System officials suspect approximately 900 out-of-state students have been lost because of rising tuition costs since the 2001-02 academic year. Since more out-of-state students will be enrolled and in-state student enrollment will not decrease, the overall number of the student body will increase. Out-of-state students are more important than they may seem, since their tuition costs can be about three times the cost of tuition for in-staters.
UW-Milwaukee Chancellor Carlos Santiago reiterated this fact when he told The Badger Herald, "The truth is, if we continue to lose money for every student we enroll [in-state] — this is going to lead us in the [wrong] direction."
The out-of-state student increase will therefore generate more revenue for the schools to use at their disposal.
Some of this revenue could be used to compensate for the pay raises of top administrative positions in the UW school system. On Monday, Rep. Stephen Nass, R-Whitewater, announced plans to introduce a bill that would limit the arranged salary increases proposed by the Board and further the controversy regarding the state interfering in UW systems affairs. He wishes to set a limit for pay increases to no more than five percent from July 2005 through July 2006 until the issue can be addressed and decided on by the biennial budget.
The Committee wants new salary ranges so that UW institutions will be able to better compete at the national level for top executives to run their campuses. More money for top executives is a little controversial for a system that spent 2005 laden with scandals involving many top executives. This is in no way a form of discrediting the executives but only a matter of precaution. Mr. Nass' bill would still allow for increases, but in smaller increments.
With so many good schools in the United States today, it is impossible for UW campuses to attract out-of-state students for such an unreasonable price. Since UW-Madison has the ability to attract many out-of-state students, it is easy to understand why it has been excluded from the tuition decrease.
Students from Illinois do not have the advantage of reciprocity with such a valuable location. Reciprocity sounds like a great idea when sister states are close and makes it possible for out-of-state students to pay in-sate costs for an out-of-state education and environment. It is difficult to understand how Minnesota students can pay in-state tuition and yet be so much farther away than many students in Illinois.
Tuition decreases for out-of-state students will undoubtedly boost revenue for UW schools, especially as all universities compete for top administrators. The combination of an increase in out-of-state students with a gradual raise for administrators will only make the UW system more appealing. With a little bit of fine-tuning from within the system and from legislators, UW schools can continue to move toward superiority.
Joelle Parks ([email protected]) is a sophomore intending to major in journalism.
