A 2.5 percent tuition increase for UW System students would be the lowest tuition raise in 25 years if the Wisconsin state Legislature approves the UW System Board of Regents proposed 2007-'09 budget.
""The governor made a request that we keep it as low as possible and at the same time make a commitment that if the funds are available, that they're reinvested in higher education,"" Regents President David Walsh said.
Also, according to Walsh, continued UW System expenses like utilities, health care and pay plans that usually ""eat up"" most of students' tuition money are lower than they have been in recent years.
""Rather than ask the students to continue to pay increasing tuition, we decided to not request it, to keep it lower,"" Walsh said. ""And then we have a number of initiatives and we were able to keep those initiative costs down, and because of that, we thought it was time that the students should share in that cost savings.""
The Regents will forward its budget request to the state by Sept. 15, when the Governor's Office will consider it in the overall state budget proposal, to be released in early 2007.
