The University of Wisconsin System Board of Regents recently announced a 3.75% hike in tuition for in-state students following the 5% raise students already faced this year, according to Wisconsin Public Radio. This decision comes after a nearly 10-year-long tuition freeze that protected in-state students from unexpected tuition increases from 2013 to 2021. But, the tuition hike does not come as a surprise — for the past several years, the Universities of Wisconsin have been struggling with declines in state funding, enrollment and other issues that place the future of higher education in Wisconsin at risk.
Universities of Wisconsin President Jay Rothman justified this tuition hike as a defense against “challenging economic realities” in a press release. At the forefront of the Universities of Wisconsin’s financial struggles is its increasingly hostile relationship with the Wisconsin Legislature. Just last fall, the Legislature protested the Universities of Wisconsin’s investment in diversity, equity and inclusion programs with a $32 million budget cut that left most Wisconsin campuses reeling from budget deficits.
Moreover, Rothman claims a tuition increase will relieve the System from financial burdens associated with increased inflation rates. In other words, the state’s resistance to adjust funding for inflation has led to cost-dumping on UW students, instead. Amid months of fruitless tug-of-war with the legislature, Wisconsin branch campuses are also dealing with declining enrollment. As a result, three UW branch campuses are set to shut down at the end of the current school year, according to the Cap Times.
With the university’s current animosity with the Legislature and a nationwide trend of decreasing college enrollment reported by WPR, the balance between affordability and educational quality is becoming increasingly precarious. While it is crucial the university has sufficient resources to maintain its educational standards, transferring the financial burden to students might create a barrier to education for in-state residents that defeats the very purpose of a public education system.
Additionally, this barrier might lead to declining enrollment rates that further jeopardize the future of higher education as a public good. This is especially dangerous considering the already decade-long trend of steadily declining college enrollment in Wisconsin, according to WPR.
In order to combat stereotypes that higher education is an unattainable luxury or that it is a futile endeavor, the Universities of Wisconsin must prioritize affordability for students in the upcoming years. While students receiving the Pell Grant, a full financial aid program for low-income Wisconsin residents, will remain unaffected by tuition increases, students who are caught in the Pell Grant coverage gap will likely suffer from these continued tuition increases. With Madison’s affordable housing crisis in full swing, additional tuition hikes might just be the final straw for UW–Madison students.
There is no doubt inflation rates are negatively impacting the Universities of Wisconsin’s bottom line, but it is simply unfair to scapegoat Wisconsin residents by forcing them to cover the financial damage. According to WPR, Wisconsinites are already paying the price for inflation as wages decline and prices skyrocket. WPR reported, in 2022, residents lost three years worth of wage growth to inflation.
Instead of cost-dumping on residents already reeling from the negative effects of inflation, the Wisconsin must be held accountable for its half-hearted contribution to public education. Specifically, it is clear Republicans in the Legislature are not fully committed to expanding the affordability of public education in Wisconsin.
Just last year, the Universities of Wisconsin requested state support for a new Wisconsin Tuition Promise program that would provide financial aid to students at all campuses besides UW–Madison, which already has its own version of the program. According to the Milwaukee Journal Sentinel, Republicans in the Legislature declined state support for the program, forcing the Universities of Wisconsin to bear the burden instead.
It is time the Legislature step up in support of public education programs. If animosity between the state and university remains, the Universities of Wisconsin might become more reliant upon revenue from out-of-state tuition, which is significantly higher than in-state tuition.
This might be detrimental to the role of the university as a state-sponsored program focusing on the needs of native Wisconsinites. According to the Universities of Wisconsin, the Wisconsin Idea is grounded in the resolution that the universities must cater its benefits to each family in Wisconsin. With spikes in tuition and ignorance from the Legislature, the Wisconsin Idea, the very foundation upon which public education in Wisconsin is founded, is clearly at risk of fading away.
The importance of post-secondary education in Wisconsin, despite growing negative stereotypes, is undeniable. According to WPR, nearly 60% of high paying jobs in Wisconsin will require at least a bachelor’s degree. But if campuses continue to shut down and the financial barrier against higher education continues to grow taller, lower-income residents and minority communities will be continuously locked out of these high-income careers. But the university cannot wage its financial battles alone. It is urgent that Republicans in the Legislature wake up and recognize the damage done by its hostility towards the Universities of Wisconsin.
Aanika Parikh ([email protected]) is a sophomore studying molecular and cell biology.
