Housing costs, fees on most UW campuses to rise
MADISON - Students at UW-Madison will on average shell out an additional $428 in segregated fees, room and board — the highest increase for a University of Wisconsin campus in the coming school year.
The state’s flagship campus is an outlier, by far, with over half of its $170 student segregated fee increase going toward building work for two of the campus’ athletic facilities.
Still, cost increases will hit students across the state to varying degrees under the budget unanimously approved by the UW Board of Regents Thursday.
Across the system, the students’ total segregated fees will range from $1,010 to $1,597 at four-year campuses and from $319 to $597 at two-year schools.
Statewide, UW schools will see a 2.7% average increase in student fees. Room and board costs at fouryear universities will rise at all but two of them by, on average, $125.
Considering the full cost of attendance at a UW System school, the increases push the “sticker price” for a student living on campus up by less that 1%, which Sean Nelson, the system’s vice president for finance, told the board is an overall success.
But that stability is driven in large part because the greatest cost to students by far — tuition — will stay frozen for a sixth school year. It’s also because most of the cost increases are modest; most UW students won’t see fees rise more than $70, and those at two-year schools will pay less than $30 more, if anything.
The exceptions to that are UW-Green Bay’s twoyear campuses in Sheboygan, Manitowoc and Marinette, who will pay fee increases upward of $100 in the 2019-’20 year, raising them to $506 total, the second highest among two-year UW campuses.
The more than 25% hike is to make up for years of under-funding those campuses compensated for using fund balances to pay for a range of student services, according to documents presented to the regents.
The other UW campuses cited building projects, public transportation passes, child care and investments in mental health and other student support services as reasons for their increases.
Four-year students can generally look to room and board for the bulk of any cost increase: in addition to Madison, students at La Crosse, Oshkosh, Parkside, Platteville, Stevens Point and Whitewater will pay upward of $100 more in the coming year.
UW-Milwaukee and UW-River Falls students won’t see any increases in room and board.
UW-Eau Claire’s Barron campus, UW-Platteville’s Baraboo and Richland campuses, UW-Stevens Point’s Marshfield campus and UW-Whitewater’s Rock County campuses won’t raise student segregated fees next year.
UW-Green Bay alone will lower fees — by $5.
Other highlights from the budget
Under the state’s new budget, the UW System will receive at least $31.7 million more state funding. In comparison, the system projects its spending budget will rise by $33.3 million.
The system is entering its seventh consecutive year with an in-state tuition freeze at four-year schools and the 11th year of a freeze at two-year campuses, according to system President Ray Cross. Leaders are projecting a net $22.8 million increase in tuition revenue, but it will come from certain high-demand professional programs and out-of state student tuition.