With budget crises and financial woes sweeping the nation, colleges throughout the country have taken active measures to stamp out the continual problem of steep tuition increases. While some universities are currently launching these initiatives, the University of Wisconsin System has opted to refrain from such untraditional options.
The state of Oregon, for example, handled nearly 70 percent of higher education costs in the late ’70s; now, the state pays for less than half of these costs. In light of these numbers, the University of Oregon has taken tuition matters into their own hands by offering students several payment options.
“With tuition increasing, we wanted to provide an option to save money to those students for whom that was a critical need,” John Moseley, U of O Provost and senior vice president, said.
Students with classes at 3 p.m. or later receive a 15 percent discount on credit hours, a policy the university plans to extend to classes starting before 9 a.m.
Over 32 percent of students took a discounted course last fall, and it is projected that this system will result in savings worth $1.5 million for this year.
In addition, the new system will help to even out disproportionate tuition costs and utilize the entire campus’s class facilities. In the past, students who took more than 13 credits or fewer than 17 credits were not charged extra. Now, however, the university will give students with this credit load a discounted tuition rate.
Moseley describes such a policy as a “plateau,” for students taking between 12 to 18 credits will not be able to get course hours free of charge as they did in the past, so that full-time students would not pay the same tuition as part-time students.
Unlike the U of O, the University of Texas is offering its students discounted or even free tuition costs if they take a heavy class load. The university would shoulder any credit costs above the designated minimum, a move they hope will encourage students to finish college within four years.
Taking another route, the University of Maryland has considered basing tuition fees on a student’s intended path of study. Liberal arts majors, for example, would cost more than engineering or chemistry majors.
The UW System, however, has shied away from such alternative methods of easing increased tuition costs.
Andy Richards, assistant vice president for budget planning for the UW System, is familiar with the aforementioned payment policies, but is doubtful that the UW System will implement them in the near future.
However, Richards said considering these options is not completely out of the picture.
“It’s an interesting proposition for us,” Richards said.
Indeed, the system has looked at various budget proposals, most of which were denied.
“We’re trying to find ways to increase our revenue base in light of the budget cuts,” UW Board of Regent member Roger Axtell said.
For example, the system made 16 requests for changes in its recent financial cycle.
One such proposal would allow the UW System to retain all earnings on tuition revenues instead of returning it to state funds. Doing so last year would have boosted the system budget by $2.2 million.
Another proposition would have given the system the power to create more jobs without state approval, a move the Regents believe would help to speed up the response to changing system conditions.
Although these and 13 other proposals failed to pass, the UW System has launched a study entitled “Rethinking the UW,” which will address the problem of tuition and system costs and will propose new possibilities for funding the system.
The Regents will present the study to Gov. Doyle and the Wisconsin Legislature within one year.
