The UW System Board of Regents voted Friday to raise UW-Eau Claire's tuition by $1,200 over the next four years by expanding the university's differential tuition program.
The Blugold Commitment, which was approved on a 14-2 vote, will raise undergraduate resident tuition by $300 each year for the next four years.
According to UW System spokesperson David Giroux, UW-Eau Claire will still be below the midpoint of its peer group in terms of undergraduate resident tuition.
""It sounds like a big increase, and it is a significant change, but the bottom line is [UW-Eau Claire is] still a very affordable public university that offers a very high-quality educational experience,"" he said.
Two regents voted against increasing tuition, citing a lack of student consensus on the issue. According to a UW System statement, Regent Tom Loftus ""urged the board"" to push back the vote and give UW-Eau Claire the opportunity to build more student consensus on the initiative.
Regent Aaron Wingad, a UW-Eau Claire student, said he supports the Blugold Commitment.
""This issue strikes home with me. If this passes, it will affect the bill I get as a student and augment my student debt,"" he said in a statement. ""In the end, I feel that the student body's elected leaders went through an extensive process that ultimately took into consideration the opinion of the student body and made a tough, close decision.""
Giroux said multiple meetings with various student groups were held on the UW-Eau Claire campus to discuss the tuition increase.
""There was a significant contingent of students who were in favor of this proposal and were working to get it passed,"" he said.
The regents also presented diversity awards to faculty across the UW System schools.
Regent José Vásquez, chair of the selection committee, described the similar ways each of the honorees approaches diversity studies.
""In their work, you will find a genuine respect for human differences, a deep attentiveness to the learning process and a keen responsiveness to students and their educational needs,"" he said.
