Associated Students of Madison Chair Madison Laning called Gov. Scott Walker’s recently proposed college affordability package “very small steps in the right direction,” saying the measures do not go as far as ASM would have hoped.
Walker introduced the package, comprised of six bills, at Waukesha County Technical College Jan. 11. He later discussed it at UW-La Crosse, also citing the four-year tuition freeze for the UW System as a part of his administration’s work to make higher education accessible and affordable for students.
The package combines several different measures authored by Republican lawmakers. The bills provide a variety of possible solutions to student debt in Wisconsin, including reducing student loan interest, which would benefit approximately 32,000 Wisconsin taxpayers paying off student loans, according to a press release from the governor’s office.
Other measures include creating grants for students with emergency financial needs, increasing needs-based Wisconsin Grants for students attending technical colleges and increasing internship availability, as well as requiring all UW System schools to provide some type of financial literacy to students within their first semester on campus, according to the release.
Laning said some of the proposed bills will not affect the general student population of Wisconsin and instead focus on a select few students, something she said makes the package not as impactful as it could be. She also explained the different factors playing into affordability for students, calling tuition the “sticker price” prospective students see when deciding to apply.
“We want to make sure that anyone in Wisconsin can attend,” Laning said. “There isn’t much movement on what tuition looks like or investment in our institution, especially following the budget year we just had with the cuts to the university. It doesn’t help rebuild access and affordability.”
College affordability and accessibility are at the root of everything ASM works on, according to Laning. She said as an organization, they would like to see the state investing more in UW-Madison and the UW System as a whole.
UW System President Ray Cross also responded to the affordability package in a Jan. 11 statement, stressing the System’s commitment to providing affordable higher education for Wisconsin students and praising Walker’s and other state legislators’ leadership surrounding the proposed bills.
“The UW System is a dedicated partner with these leaders and the many others working to help build a talent pipeline that fuels individual opportunity and Wisconsin’s growth,” Cross said in the statement.
