Universities of Wisconsin regents agreed to ask Gov. Tony Evers for an additional $855 million for the system in the next state budget, according to the Associated Press. The current system is experiencing financial struggles as state aid has significantly decreased since the 1980s, according to the 2023-2024 UW Budget. This drop has made UW schools far more reliant on income from tuition.
UW System schools now must take more money from students to be able to afford to educate them. The systems have had to cut major expenses, and, if additional money isn’t allocated, then the higher cost of a UW education will be felt entirely by students and their guardians, according to the Associated Press. The additional funds would help prevent further tuition increases which will consequently make college more affordable.
The additional funding would cover an 8% salary increase for faculty, which is critical to the effort to retain faculty and staff. UW schools are nothing without their faculty and staff and maintaining a competitive workforce and high-caliber professorships is an essential component of higher education in the state.
Additionally, the funds would bolster the Wisconsin Tuition Promise, a program that covers tuition and fees for low-income students. University regents rolled out the original Wisconsin Tuition Promise program in 2023 – which covered tuition for students whose families earn $62,000 or less – but the program fell flat after just one year due to a lack of funds, according to the Wisconsin Public Radio. UW regents intend to restart the program in 2025 for families earning $55,000 or less, according to the Star Tribune.
Not only would a boost in state funds help make the 2025 Wisconsin Tuition Program a sustained reality, but the money would also aid in keeping two-year branches of the UW system open. If received, these funds would drastically improve the overall state for both students and faculty.
To maintain a balanced and reputable educational system, students need to be able to afford to learn and faculty needs to get paid enough to teach. For many, the allocation of these funds would certify that. Additionally, it could open up the campus to have a more diverse socio-economic landscape.
Enabling more low-income students to attend UW System schools will make for more diverse and representative campuses. It is no secret that tuition is expensive for not only out-of-state students but for in-state students as well, according to the Associated Press. Without programs like the Wisconsin Tuition Promise, many students wouldn’t be able to afford to attend school here. If more money is given to the program, then it will open doors for students across the state who simply cannot afford the same educational expenses as their peers.
Not only would these funds support low-income households in the state – which are disproportionately represented by minority groups – but they would also help expand student services. Programs that had to be cut due to the withholding of funds would have the potential to be refinanced. These services would greatly improve student life and provide more and better opportunities that support an enriching education.
But, even if Gov. Evers approves these funds, there is no guarantee that UW will receive them. The Wisconsin GOP not only cut a quarter of a billion dollars from the UW budget in 2015, but they also withheld $32 million in 2023 as a bargaining chip to pressure university system regents to cut DEI initiatives. If Gov. Evers approves the allocation of this money, Republicans would likely either stop or limit the amount of money UW receives.
Political agenda should not be a factor in whether or not students and faculty can learn and teach fairly and effectively. Higher education is one of the most important projects of state government, and a failure to approve more funding would be a blow to not only the university system but the entire state of Wisconsin. The budget increase is a necessary step to keep the UW system financially secure and ensure a quality education that avoids unnecessarily high tuition costs. Lawmakers cannot allow partisan politics to get in the way of providing critical funding to the state’s university system.
