UW System President Raymond Cross
The University of Wisconsin will maintain a tuition freeze mandated in the state budget for a second year in a row. However, students will be paying more for fees, and room and board, under a budget approved Thursday by the Board of Regents.
Meeting in Milwaukee, the Board voted unanimously for a university budget that includes a 3.6 percent hike in student segregated fees, plus a room and board increase which averages 2.7 percent at the four year schools. UW System president Ray Cross says the increases were needed to cover student-initiated programs, dorm renovations and maintenance, rising food costs, and pay for non-faculty staffers.
Total spending under the UW budget will rise by 1.7 percent in the next year, totaling $6.1 billion.
AUDIO: UW System President Ray Cross (:21)
The governor and Legislature ordered the tuition freeze a year ago, amid criticism that UW campuses were holding too much in reserves. The new budget addresses that, too, with average reserves of 3.3 percent. Governor Scott Walker has said he would propose a tuition freeze for those next two years as well.