MADISON, Wis. (AP) — Wisconsin university officials are asking their regents to approve a request for $855 million in new state funding to avert another round of tuition increases, cover salary increases, subsidize tuition and keep two-year branch campuses open in some form.
President Jay Rothman said during a brief Zoom news conference Monday that his administration plans to ask the regents on Thursday to approve the request for the money as part of the 2025-27 state budget. The request is just the first step in a long, arduous budgeting process. Tuition and student fees at the University of Wisconsin-Madison, the system’s flagship campus, are currently $11,606 a year for in-state students. The total cost for a year at the university is about $30,000 when room and board, class materials and other costs are included.
If the regents sign Rothman’s proposal, it will be forwarded to Gov. Tony Evers, who will be asked to include it in the budget proposal he sends to lawmakers for consideration in budget negotiations. Evers has already announced that he plans to propose more than $800 million in new funding for the university in the upcoming biennial budget.
Next spring, lawmakers will spend several weeks drafting a budget before sending it back to Evers, who can use his partial veto power to reshape the document as he wishes.
Rothman said he will not ask for a tuition increase for the 2026-27 academic year if he gets what he wants from lawmakers. He declined to say what increases students could expect otherwise.
Declining enrollment and stagnant state support have caused major financial problems for the UW System and made campuses even more dependent on tuition. Six of the system’s 13 campuses offering four-year degrees face a deficit at the start of this academic year, and system officials have announced plans since last year to close six branch campuses offering two-year degrees.
Nearly a quarter of the system’s revenue came from tuition last year, while only about 17% came from state funds, according to an analysis by the nonpartisan Legislative Fiscal Bureau. Regents raised tuition by an average of 4.9% for the 2023-24 academic year and by 3.75% earlier this year.
Rothman said the additional money he is requesting would be enough for an 8% overall salary increase for faculty and staff during the two-year period.
The new money would also help fund the Wisconsin Tuition Promise, a program that will cover tuition and fees for lower-income students starting in 2026. Students from families earning $71,000 or less would be eligible.
The program was introduced in 2023 and included students whose families earned $62,000 or less. Financial problems led to a suspension of the program this year, except at UW-Madison and UW-Milwaukee. However, the system plans to resume it next fall for students whose families earn $55,000 or less, using mostly money from system administration.
An influx of money from the state could not only increase tuition subsidies and fund salary increases, but also help keep two-year branches open, Rothman said. But even with more money, campus missions could shift to graduate programs or adult education amid declining enrollment, he said.
