UW-Madison Undergraduate School of Business Dean Mike Knetter said the school needs the currently proposed tuition increase to maintain the quality of the school, at an informational meeting in Grainger Hall Thursday.
Knetter said the need for funds is not as sudden as it might seem and the school has been trying to work with insufficient funds for some time now. However, according to Knetter, there is also an increasing demand for business programs in general, especially with international students.
If the proposal is passed by the UW System Board of Regents, differential tuition would entail an additional $500 per semester for every business major and $150 for those seeking a certificate in business.
""We're already turning away too many people for business education, in my opinion,"" Knetter said. ""Many of the people we turn away are not only qualified, but they will go and work in businesses after having taken a major in something else that doesn't prepare them as well for what they are going to do, and that's really unfortunate.""
According to Knetter, the business school has already lost some faculty members to other Big Ten competitors that are able to offer the faculty more money than UW-Madison. He said salaries are one area the additional money would supplement.
""The money is going to faculty positions,"" said Mark Browne, associate dean for undergraduate programs. ""It's not going to give me a raise, for instance.""
Although the differential tuition would be beneficial to new faculty, Knetter admitted there is a possibility it could be detrimental to students. He said though some could take similar classes without paying the extra tuition, it would be in the student's best interest to reap the benefits that the school has to offer. Browne agreed the classes the school specializes in, as well as the advantage of early registration, could help students in the field.
Administrators also decided to begin admitting sophomores into the School of Business instead of only juniors to improve career preparation, as students will be able to obtain internships earlier in their college careers.
UW-Madison sophomore Megan McGrath plans to apply to the school this semester and would be directly affected if the Board of Regents passes the proposal in March.
""I think differential tuition would be great to keep our staff, get more staff and faculty and even accepting more people to the business school,"" McGrath said. ""Why wouldn't you want to pay more if you have more opportunity?""
