Base tuition at UW-Milwaukee will increase next year by $364 for in-state undergraduate students.
The move, which was approved by the Board of Regents at the end of March, has been long sought by university leaders operating under tight budgets. The issue is particularly acute at UWM where 88% of the university’s operating budget comes from tuition dollars as the university faces a “daunting dilemma” financially, the Wisconsin Policy Forum said in 2021.
Regents also approved increases to other UWM fees including segregated fees, housing and differentials.
More than a third of students at UWM are the first in their families to attend college, and more than a quarter come from underrepresented groups, according to the Division of Academic Affairs, which means more UWM students need academic and financial support.
UWM students interviewed by The Post had mixed feelings about the move but wonder if they’ll be able to see the benefits of the increase.
“We’re all going to get some blowback,” Regent Bob Atwell said when the Board approved the increase. “We’re seeing it in our inboxes already.”
Here’s what four UWM students think of the increases and what UWM students need to know about the upcoming changes.
Beckett Callan
“I’m not surprised that this is happening,” first-semester senior Beckett Callan said. “It happens all the time with everything. Every price goes up. To be honest, I feel like school should not cost as much as it does already, so the fact that it’s going up like this is kind of ridiculous.”
Throughout his years at UWM, Callan has received some financial help from his parents but continues to rely on student loans when faced with the price of each semester.
“It’ll just be more that I have to pay in the end, and hopefully I can hold out long enough to where they eventually cancel it all,” Callan said. “I’m not going to bank on that happening.”
Jake Griepentrog
“As a student, I’m not a fan of this, but I can understand the financial reasons behind why they’re doing it,” Jake Griepentrog, a marketing and supply chain student, said.
While Griepentrog admits he comes from a family with the ability to finance his education, he is aiming to pay off student loans himself. UWM’s tuition increase is an additional stressor in balancing his studies, work schedule and social life, he said.
“Say I do poorly in school, and I’m paying that much money,” Griepentrog said. “That’s going to stress me out, because then I’ll have to pay for and take the same classes again.”
Angelica Huebler
“When I heard about the tuition increase, I thought it wasn’t exactly a great step,” said Angelica Hubler, a master communication sciences and disorders student. “But I’ll take it if it means that the money is actually helping first-gen students.”
Huebler, who has not taken out loans for her undergrad or graduate degree so far, hopes that some of the fees will support the Wisconsin Tuition Promise, or go toward renovations that could attract more students.
“Some people are already working as many hours as they can,” Huebler explained. “There are people who are already struggling to meet the demands, especially if they’re right in that middle area of making too much for grants, but not enough to get by. This increase can definitely create barriers for a large group of people.”
Kyle Farris
“I’m disappointed but not surprised,” the kinesiology major said when hearing about the increase for the first time.
The fourth-year student attended a community and UW-Parkside before transferring to UWM, making UWM the most expensive school he’s attended and the first school where he’s had to pay for housing in addition to tuition.
“I take loans out and use FAFSA, so now I’ll have more loans and more debt. I wonder where the extra money is going besides the constant random construction or something.”
Details of the tuition increase and other fees
In addition to the increase in base tuition, the Board of Regents also approved increases for other student fees, housing and differentials, among other things, meaning that some students will see higher increases than others.
Beginning this coming academic year, yearly base tuition for full-time, in-state undergraduates will increase from $8,091 to $8,455; additionally, segregated fees will increase to $1,565, an increase of $36, according to UW System documents—these are fees that all full-time students pay.
Nonresident undergraduate tuition will increase to $20,455, about $500, according to an email from UWM.
Students in engineering and biomedical programs will also see a differential tuition amount added to their yearly tuition:
- An increase to the existing Engineering and Applied Science differential is proposed for the 2023-24 academic year for both undergraduate and graduate students. The differential is currently charged on a per-credit basis of $21.63, or $519.12 annually for undergraduates and $346.08 annually for graduate students. The proposal changes the differential to a flat rate of $1,400 per student, annually, for all students. The increase would be used to fund new and upgraded instructional laboratory equipment and supplies and support for hands-on and active learning-based engineering laboratories, as well as the support of personnel costs, these costs include added instructional labs and elective courses. This change was supported by students unanimously when presented to the Student Advisory Committee, according to UW System documents.
- “A new differential is being proposed for Biomedical Sciences of $1,000 annually. The differential would be applied in the junior and senior years (once a student has been accepted to the major) for undergraduate programs that include a laboratory component including Medical Laboratory Science, Biomedical Sciences, Public Health Microbiology, Cytotechnology, Diagnostic Medical Sonography, and Radiologic Technology programs,” UW System documents say. The differential would be used to update equipment and technology, maintain existing equipment, provide quality-controlled reagents and materials to properly test and evaluate patients, and support and expand virtual reality technology to enhance distance learning. A portion of the differential would be devoted to financial aid for students in these programs. This fee will only be applied to new students entering the program starting in 2023.
“There are currently program-specific differentials for the Peck School of the Arts, School of Business Administration, and College of Nursing, all implemented in Fall 2004. The School of Architecture and Urban Planning also has a program-specific differential, implemented in Fall 2006. No changes are being proposed for these differentials for the 2023-24 academic year,” UW System documents say.
The student room rate will increase by $184 next year (to $6,297) and the meal plan will increase by $159 (to $4,433), an overall increase of $343 or about 3.3%.
This means that a full-time, in-state undergraduate student who lives on campus and is on the meal plan will pay about $743 more next year than this year, UW System documents show.
Background on the increase, why it’s happening now and what the money will be used for
Generating an estimated $38 million annually, the increase would offset some of the impacts of a state-imposed tuition freeze and recent inflation, according to Rothman, who said he was “extraordinarily sensitive” about college affordability.
“After more than a decade of frozen tuition rates and as costs have increased and more particularly in recent years, inflation has accelerated, it is essential that we seek this increase for the long-term financial viability of our universities and to sustain the quality of education and research and services that we provide,” Rothman said.
Republican lawmakers first froze the system’s tuition in the 2013-14 school year but lifted the freeze in 2021, over Gov. Tony Evers’s recommendation, according to state documents. This allowed the Board of Regents to raise tuition if they choose, though they haven’t increased tuition so far.
About $25 million of the money will go toward covering half of the 2% cost-of-living salary adjustments that UW System employees received in January and part of the 4% pay increases requested for employees next January.
The cumulative effect on funding modest employee raises without state money to pay for it in recent years is the “No. 1 reason we’re coming to you today” with a tuition increase proposal, UW System Vice President of Finance Sean Nelson told the board.
Campuses will put the remaining money toward a variety of priorities, such as increased staffing in advising and mental health counseling, UW System documents say.
Currently, 88% of UWM’s operating budget is from tuition dollars, Chancellor Mark Mone said in a faculty town hall in November.
While students might appreciate the tuition freeze, it has contributed to the campus’s “daunting dilemma” financially, according to a 2021 report from the Wisconsin Policy Forum.
“Given the local economy’s need for innovation and for skilled workers such as nurses and programmers, UWM’s contributions are perhaps more important than ever,” the report says. “Yet its critical role is jeopardized by the university’s financial straits and its future contributions will depend heavily on decisions made at the state level as well as in response to the pandemic.”
According to Rothman, the UW System is the most affordable university system in the upper Midwest, and a 5% increase would not change that. He said that the increase would allow the system to continue to provide the state with an educated workforce and attract or create jobs.
“This modest tuition increase will help our universities continue to provide students with a world-class education, produce the talent that Wisconsin’s workforce needs to succeed, and spark innovation and vitality in our communities,” Rothman said.
Fall tuition charges are anticipated to post to students’ accounts in late June, according to UWM.