Here & Now

UW System Pushes for Tuition Freeze in Return for Investment

Frederica Freyberg:
In other state news, the UW System is trying to make a deal with the state Legislature. Under the plan announced this week by the UW Board of Regents, tuition at state public universities would be frozen for the ’27-’29 biennium if the state Legislature agrees to invest $190 million in the Universities of Wisconsin System. Also part of the deal, UW campuses would promise to cap tuition at the rate of inflation for two years following the tuition freeze. The Board of Regents also announced a new program called Wisconsin Work and Learn. It would eliminate tuition for in-state resident students whose families earn at or below the median household income. In exchange, students would have to commit to taking part in work, internship or apprenticeship programs. Board of Regents President Kyle Weatherly said these two proposals will make Wisconsin public universities more financially attractive to students.

Kyle Weatherly:
Together, these proposals would make the Universities of Wisconsin the most affordable in the Midwest. They would provide families with greater certainty, remove financial barriers for thousands of students, and reaffirm Wisconsin’s long-standing belief that talent and hard work, not financial circumstances, should determine a student’s opportunity to succeed.

Frederica Freyberg:
We should note that PBS Wisconsin is a part of UW-Madison.