[media-credit name=’SUNDEEP MALLADI/Herald photo’ align=’alignright’ width=’336′][/media-credit]The costs for a top-notch education keep piling up for those at the University of Wisconsin, as rising tuition continues to thin out the wallets of students and their families. However, students in specific degree programs may see even more increases in their tuition. The Board of Regents approved a proposal two weeks ago that raised overall tuition for students in the UW-Madison School of Business by $500 per semester. A similar proposal for the UW School of Engineering is now making its way through the university's administrative process. Such an approval raises questions about the value of a university education and whether students in certain programs should be required to pay more money than others. "I think, like most units on this campus, there is a constant struggle for increasing our resource base," School of Business Dean Michael Knetter said. "It's a matter of aligning people with our priorities." As all UW students saw an overall tuition bump of $500 before the 2006-07 academic year, an additional $500 increase puts an even bigger burden on students enrolled in the School of Business. "I hope that quality is just as great, if not better, than it is now," said Liz Byrnes, a sophomore looking to apply to the school. "If you're going to raise tuition, there better be a good reason." Regent Chuck Pruitt, who was present at the board meeting, said the regents were impressed with UW's proposal to raise Business School tuition. "I thought that the dean and student groups made a strong and compelling case," Pruitt said. "In any of these differential tuition considerations, tuition needs to be directly benefiting students." According to Knetter, 25 percent of the extra tuition money received would go toward financial aid for students who cannot afford to pay a higher fee. The remaining 75 percent would be distributed among various resources such as faculty, staff, advising and recruiting, among other initiatives. Knetter said breaking up the extra tuition money was crucial to maintaining the quality of education at the UW School of Business. "I wouldn't say it's a good thing, but it's a necessary thing," Knetter said. "It's about the reality of having a quality faculty and a solid experience." UW System spokesperson David Giroux echoed those sentiments about the value of the Business School's specific tuition increase. "I think business students especially are people who look at value for the dollar," Giroux said. "A lot of people in this world would pay a few dollars more to get a better quality." Following the trend UW's move to increase tuition in certain degree programs is not a new notion across the nation. In fact, the university is one of the last schools in the Big Ten to prescribe a tuition differential. "We're kind of late to this," Knetter said. "But we held out as long as we possibly could." Of all the Big Ten schools, only the University of Minnesota lacks a tuition differential for their business school. Though UW Business School students will pay $1,000 per year on top of the university's annual base tuition, the differential is even greater at other Big Ten schools. According to the University of Illinois at Urbana-Champaign's Office of the Registrar, the base rate for resident tuition this past year was $7,708. However, the College of Business required in-state students to pay $11,070. Out-of-state business school students at UIUC pay $3,000 more than out-of-state students in other majors. At Pennsylvania State University, the in-state base tuition for undergraduates in 2006-07 was $11,946. However, the in-state tuition for students enrolled in the Smeal College of Business was $13,338. For out-of-state students, the tuition differential was about the same. However, not all Big Ten schools have such high differentials between their base and business school tuitions. The Eli Broad College of Business at Michigan State University charges students $200 more in tuition per semester over its base tuition. Giroux said UW's Business School bump would help accommodate the rising needs of a program aiming to maintain its nationally recognized quality, as the Business School received accolades this past year for its quality product. "I would argue our lower cost opportunities are still high quality," Giroux added. "You want your degree to carry … a certain level of prestige." Knetter said that while other schools' differential was taken into consideration, the actual figure for the UW proposal was a result of a program review conducted in the past, which "articulated certain needs" of the school. Undergraduate Business Leadership Council President-Elect Jon Fasoli said he could not speak on behalf of all students, but he said there was a general desire to maintain the school's top level of education in comparison to other schools in the nation. "Every student at the Business School realizes the quality of professors that we're fortunate to have," he said. "To keep those professors, we need to offer them competitive salaries." Pushing for the proposal Bringing forward the increase to the Board of Regents was a process that Giroux said was strongly driven by business students. According to Giroux, Business School students, understanding the need to improve the quality of resources, showed interest in the UW administration's tuition hike proposal. Knetter said the Business School administration worked with the Undergraduate Business Leadership Council to address the council's concerns about students who would be adversely affected by the increase. Conversations about the proposed tuition differential have been in the works for many months, Fasoli said. According to Fasoli, the UBLC — a student organization made up of representatives from each major in the Business School — saw a need to maintain the quality of the Business School in the future, and signed a letter supporting the increase. "It's no secret that we're treated very well on campus," Fasoli said. "It's definitely understood in order for us to compete, in order for us to maintain the prestige the UW Business School has already built up, it's going to be necessary." The Business School's administration decided to consult solely business students, but recognized the overall debate at hand. "We understand that people on other parts may be interested in this," Knetter said. "Campus-wide conversation is important and should happen." Giroux added the Board of Regents takes student interest into strong consideration when deciding differentials. "The very first step is that the students, in fact, support it," Giroux said. "That's essentially the process — it starts with the school and campus." While the UBLC was not the most important voice in bringing forth the proposal, Fasoli said it was important for business students to openly support the differential. When the idea reached the chancellor's office, Knetter said the administration believed it was the best option to pursue. The chancellor's office and the Business School administration carried a consistent dialogue in order to receive student feedback, Knetter added. "The administration was fairly concerned about people's reactions to this," Fasoli said. "It couldn't have really stopped them if we objected but signing gave them our full support." When the proposal was brought to the Board of Regents, Giroux said the regents saw a lot of passion and concern about the quality of the Business School from the students. "A lot of people … get a little upset and think the administration is imposing it on the students, when in fact the only reason it succeeded was the other way," Giroux said. "The students carried the water on the differential completely." A slippery slope? With the increase at the Business School, another degree program on campus is considering raising tuition for enrolled students as well. Student organizations from the School of Engineering debated earlier this month whether to raise Engineering School tuition $700 per semester. "Within campuses, should certain degree programs cost more than others, or should they all stay the same?" Giroux said. "If more of these colleges are coming up with these differentials, we need a really broad look of tuition differentials." The differential proposals lead to the possibility of the other schools within UW to push for individual tuition hikes as well. "As far as the differential goes, if it spreads like wildfire, it could eventually disappear and go back to a flat rate," Fasoli said. In the Business School, Fasoli said the reputation of the school is important for the future. However, Pruitt said he does not see a slippery slope effect with differentials, as long as the Board of Regents is involved in the process. "I think everyone's going to be judged individually and independently," Pruitt said. "In that sense, I'm confident that we're not going to have a slippery slope." If a differential for engineering students is brought to the board, Pruitt said the regents would take each proposal through the same process as the Business School proposal did. Additionally, Pruitt said the UW System might conduct a review of all campuses within the system to communicate the standards for increasing any type of tuition. In a broader picture, Giroux said increasing tuition for a specific school raises questions about overall tuition increases — a notion UW System President Kevin Reilly put forth to the board during the approval process. "We're asking students today to pick up more of their education," Giroux said. "The notion of differential asks where tuition in Wisconsin is going." Therefore, Pruitt said the regents highly favored the percentage of the money received by the differential toward financial aid. And the school is also looking for other options to help financially struggling students, according to Pruitt. "We were reassured that the Business School will help those students and this differential won't keep them from pursuing a degree there," Pruitt said. "The cost of education is different for each department. It doesn't mean it's better, it just means it's different." Byrnes said the differential itself could be steeper, adding that while she didn't prefer an increase, she believed it was "manageable." She added the increase would not personally affect her decision to apply. "It's not going to deter me away from applying," Byrnes said. "I hope my education in the School of Business will help me to pay off that extra $500 per semester."