Members of the UW System Board of Regents are calling for full state support of student veterans' tuition, demanding legislative leaders to fund it in the current budget negotiations.
Three years ago, the state decided there should be free tuition for veterans provided through remissions; which means that the UW System will receive no tuition,"" said David Walsh, former UW System Board of Regents President and current committee member. ""But they didn't fund a reimbursement back to the system. They just said educate these people and don't charge them.""
Participation has doubled by veterans asking for tuition waivers in the past two years, according to an editorial Walsh co-wrote in the Wisconsin State Journal.
The UW System has absorbed the lack of funding from 2005 until now, but the school system needs assistance from the state to continue funding the program without raising tuition or lowering admissions rates, Walsh said.
""The good news is that more people are taking advantage of it. The bad news is that students are paying for it,"" said Walsh.
The state is currently involved in budget negotiations and veterans' benefits are a highly debated topic on the budget.
""What has happened is there have been four very separate proposals in the budget. One of the versions, which was passed by the Assembly, deleted any type of funding for the veterans' tuition remission,"" said state Rep. John Townsend, R-Fond du Lac, vice-chair of the Assembly Committee on Veterans and Military Affairs.
Townsend said there are several ideas of how to accommodate veterans in each of the different budget proposals. He said he would support a way of funding veterans' tuition that made student veterans complete a course before tuition was waived.
Depending on which variation of the budget the state adopts, veterans' tuition funding could fall entirely on the UW System to fund.
""Even in a best case situation, we'll be $18 million short. It will undoubtedly result in increased tuition and possibly lowered enrollment,"" said Walsh.
The best possible budget for the
UW System was proposed by Gov. Jim Doyle and allocates $11 million for veterans' tuition benefits, said Walsh. The budget proposed by the Assembly will cover none of the costs, according to Walsh.
Townsend said the budget negotiations are still underway and the veterans' tuition is only one of several issues that need to be addressed before debates can be concluded.
