<p>Regents</a> to Set UW Tuition June 5</p>
<p>*MADISON, Wis. The University of Wisconsin System Board of Regents is scheduled to approve an annual operating budget and set tuition rates for the 2008-09 academic year at this weeks meeting in Milwaukee. The recommended tuition increases mirror those approved for the current academic year.
*</p>
<p>5.5% is very reasonable. With all the new aid coming on line they should have gone a bit higher and started funding better raises for the faculty. The current raises o 3% over two years are a sad joke. Especially since most of it does not take effect until the last day of Year 2.</p>
<p>There was a chart in the paper the other day that, if I read it right, showed that with this hike tuition for UW-Madison will have risen about 87% over the last ten years. Wow. If only the legislature showed the same financial commitment to the state University system that they are asking students to show.</p>
<p>If they had started at the median for the Big 10, 87% of that would mean something. They started so low that 87% is still not all that much in total $$$$'s. UM can increase theirs by just 3% and raise more cash than UW can going up 5.5%.</p>
<p>I recognize that UW was somewhat below the peer standard, but 87% still means something -- it means the cost of a UW education has nearly doubled in the past decade. Argue all you want about whether it was a relative bargain or whether at this point it is relatively fairly valued, but that argument doesn't do much for the many people being priced out of a Wisconsin education.</p>
<p>Who are these people? Wisconsin has lots of aid for the lower income students and just added a massive new scholarship program</p>
<p>From the link:</p>
<ol>
<li>What is ‘lower-income’?
Eligibility will be determined through the FAFSA process. The grants will be based on financial need. It is our hope to provide grants to more than just low-income students as the fund grows. It is becoming apparent that many middle income families struggle with the cost of college.<br>
Let me translate: We know middle income families are being priced out of a UW education but we don't have any money for them yet. Sorry.</li>
</ol>
<p>If "middle income" parents can't save or contribute $4000/yr or half tuition they are doing a poor job of planning for college. Any industrious kid should be able to make and save $4000/yr too when of working age. I saved half that 30 years ago when pay was only around $2.50/hr.</p>
<p>UW has over $60,000,000 in grant (nonloan) money for undergrads most of which goes to instate. That's about $6800 per student in the lower income half of the class. That's before the new program. Wisconsin seems to lead the country in bellyaching about its state university. People in my office are thrilled when their kids pick U Washington beacuse the tuition is only about $8000.</p>
<p>Barrons- YOU lead the pack in bellyaching about everything. Please be kinder, or at least less harsh. It demeans you when you are forever finding fault. I somehow suspect you are not a parent as you never have any parenting stories. You also have plenty of comments about this state without living here, your sojourn in our state did not give you an understanding of it from your usual commentary. You do do a good job of ferreting out some news items, though, thank you for that.</p>
<p>I think eight years there plus another eight in nearby Chicago with lots of weekends in Wisconsin gave me a very good background on the state. I don't comment on many of the child handling threads because I don't have kids except for step-kids who were already adults. But analyzing the UW and its relationship with the state does not require having kids. The biggest UW critic in the state government has no kids either.</p>
<p>I don't think I'm harsh at all. Just telling things as they are. Read the Forums/Community Comments section of the madison newspapers if you want to see bellyaching. Here's a good one to start with</p>
<p>madison.com</a> | View topic - Blame Legislature for tuition hike</p>
<p>Living in the Ivory Tower world of the UW campus and OOS, no matter if Chicago or Minneapolis, is not the same as living in Madison or other Wisconsin places without being connected to the school. Living in the Seattle environs does not make one an expert on the mindset of eastern WA either. One can tell things as they are without nasty added comments.</p>
<p>Here's a fine older example of the mindset of some in the state government and around the state for that matter. I'm sure you'll remember being so knowing about UW and Wisconsin. I remember it well. As to being kinder--not a chance. I will call them as I see them now and in the future. The bellyachers are welcome to join the debate here as they do in the local papers where I also join the discussion..</p>
<p>The</a> story of the world</p>
<p>Of course the next year the Nobel winner left. That's what some people there don't understand. Being a prof at UW is not like being some guy at a factory where there is always another one to take your place. Many of them are very special people with credentials the average person does not even appreciate. Not to mention the millions they bring to the state. I wonder how much $$$ the Nobel prof took with him to Cambridge? And how many jobs.</p>