In the next few weeks as the cuts to UW System schools become final, so will the tuition increases that inevitably follow. With the possibility of a 10 percent one-time surcharge above a proposed 13 percent tuition increase for out-of-state students and an 8 percent cap on in-state tuition increases, the financial impact on all students will be great.
But students can unite under a common cause to fight these considerable increases in the cost of our education.
Unfortunately, it is easy in these situations to see those students getting the lesser of the increases as unfairly favored, or possibly for state residents to wonder why their tuition should be increased at all.
But when contemplating the ramifications of tuition increases, students should move forward from their common ground. Understanding the logic and value of each other's position is key. In the end, the costs of Wisconsin's financial woes affect us all to similar degrees, though in different forms.
For out-of-state students, recognition of the budget crisis in Wisconsin'and the dire consequences of not correcting it'is necessary. The fiscal realities demand cuts in the university, as well as other state-run programs, for the state economy to remain viable. In-state students, while not hit as hard in terms of tuition, will face impacts on the quality and quantity of services they formerly would have received in their hometowns. In addition, it is by way of the taxes paid by these Wisconsin residents that the UW System is able to provide quality facilities and staff.
For in-state students, it is imperative to recognize that out-of-state students are the other half of the equation in terms of quality education at the university. Out-of-state students keep UW-Madison from becoming pigeonholed as just another Midwestern university. The variety of perspectives and experiences they offer gives diversity to the educational experience here. They are not a strain on in-state students' wallets, but rather out-of-state students help keep in-state tuition low by the tuition subsidy their fees provide.
Neither group has more right to claim priority at this university because without either, UW-Madison would not be what it is today.
Tuition increases and cuts in institutional funding are never enjoyable. But they are a reality of attending a state school subject to the larger forces of a state budget.
Whether or not Wisconsin is your home state, we are all students of this university and all will be affected by the final determinations.
As a student body, we must unite to fight for the UW System in the budget to be passed by the legislature. Call Assembly Speaker Scott Jensen, R-Waukesha, at (608) 266-3387 to let him know we won't stand for the proposed Assembly cuts of over $100 million. Call Senate Majority Leader Chuck Chvala, D-Madison, at (608) 266-9170 to prevent him from using the university as a bargaining chip in negotiations. Wisconsin's future is too important to barter away. Call Gov. Scott McCallum's office at (608) 266-1212 to discourage him from exercising his line-item veto power to harm the UW System, as he has in the past.
Students can make a difference. Take action today to protect the future of Wisconsin and its universities.
