Gov. Scott Walker has indicated a desire to continue a freeze on in-state tuition at UW System schools, according to a letter released to state agencies last month.
In the document, Walker said his 2017-’19 biennium budget proposal would freeze tuition to help preserve the accessibility of higher education in the Badger State
“To build on our commitment to student success, we must extend the tuition freeze,” Walker wrote in the July 25 letter. “This will make our universities affordable and accessible. These two items will help our young people develop the skills they will need for
But elsewhere in the letter, Walker warned that there will be little, if any, funding increases for state agencies on the whole. While certain priorities, like K-12 education and road funding, could be saved, the governor said department heads need to prepare for little funding increases and to “realign resources” to fit in with their current budgets.
Advocates for the UW System have been hoping for an increase in funds following a $250 million cut in the 2015-’17 budget.
Continuing the tuition freeze, however, would ensure one of Walker’s key priorities remain in place. Tuition has remained at just over $10,000 at UW-Madison for in-state students over the past four years, a fact which Walker has touted widely.
UW System spokesperson Stephanie Marquis said in a statement that a freeze without state investment could mean fewer classes and increased time to graduation, which she said could cost students more in the long run.
The system will submit its budget request in the next few weeks, which Marquis said will include initiatives to address affordability issues for students. She said the system is committed to providing affordable education and hopes Walker will fund the initiatives especially if a freeze is in place.
In addition, the door could be left open for certain funding increases for the UW System, provided they hit certain metric-driven benchmarks. Walker spokesperson Tom Everson told the Wisconsin State Journal that the governor is “considering options for additional funding,” which could include performance-based incentives.
This comes after Walker said last month that he was considering implementing the system, although he declined to say which metrics would be used to impact funding.
“If we do anything additional for the University of Wisconsin System … we’d probably try and figure out ... some performance-driven components as a possibility going forward,” Walker told reporters after a luncheon for the United Negro College Fund in Madison, adding it was something his administration was “interested in.”
UW-Madison Chancellor Rebecca Blank, who also attended the function, said she would be “delighted” to hammer out increased investment in the UW System.
Associated Students of Madison Chair Carmen Goséy argued that Walker’s call for the freeze combined with no increase in funding for the system “contradicts the argument of making college more affordable and accessible, especially for in-state students.”
Goséy pointed to public universities in California, where she said the state does not invest in public higher education, as an example of what could happen in Wisconsin.
She explained that growing the state workforce is a matter of attracting in-state students and making education more accessible to them, including those of lower socioeconomic status. During a tuition freeze where universities must seek more revenue, she said they will often rely on a greater population of out-of-state students to bring in the needed funds.
“On some campuses in California, out-of-state students make up 50 percent of
Goséy asked that UW-Madison Chancellor Rebecca Blank and UW System officials continue to fight for more state funding and push the legislature to invest further in public education, and said that during the school year, students will be advocating for the same thing.
“There will absolutely be involvement and trying to engage students on, ‘Do you want to lobby at the state level for your education, and on the quality of your education, by asking for more state funding?’” Goséy said. “Asking for the state to invest in the future of Wisconsin.”
