Regent Policy Document 32-5 (formerly 92-8)

Tuition Policy Principles

  1. Tuition and financial aid in the University of Wisconsin System should balance educational quality, access, and ability to pay.
  2. As a matter of fiscal and educational policy, the state should, at a minimum, strive to maintain its current General Purpose Revenue funding share (65%) of regular budget requests for cost-to-continue, compensation, and new initiatives, and fully fund tuition increases in state financial aid programs.
  3. Nonresident students should pay a larger share of instructional costs than resident students, and at least the full cost of instruction, when the market allows. Nonresident rates should be competitive with those charged at peer institutions and sensitive to institutional nonresident enrollment changes and objectives.
  4. Where general budget increases are not sufficient to maintain educational quality, supplemental tuition increases should assist in redressing the imbalance between needs and resources.
  5. Tuition increases should be moderate and predictable, subject to the need to maintain quality.
  6. General Purpose Revenue financial aid and graduate assistant support should increase at a rate no less than that of tuition while staying commensurate with the increased student budget needs of students attending the University of Wisconsin System. In addition, support should also reflect increases in the number of aid eligible students.
  7. General tuition revenue (to cover regular budget increases under the standard 65% General Purpose Revenue and 35% fees split) should continue to be pooled system wide. Special fees may be earmarked for particular institutions and/or programs increasing those fees.
  8. When considering tuition increases beyond the regular budget, evaluation of doctoral graduate tuition should consider impacts on multi-year grants and the need to self-fund waivers or remissions from base reallocation within departmental budgets.

 

History: Res. 6238 adopted 10/9/92; replaces 90-8; Guideline 6 re-affirmed by Res. 6733, 8/18/94; Guideline 5 and 6 revised by 96-3 (Resolution 7176(b), 5/9/96); principle 7 reaffirmed by Res. 8316, 3/8/01, amended by Res. 8841 adopted 5/7/04.  Res. 9451, adopted 04/10/2008, reaffirmed RPD 32-5.

See Also:

SYS 185, College Credit in High School (formerly G36)

SYS 805, Tuition and Fee Policies for Credit Instruction (formerly F44)

SYS 815, Student Technology Fee Expenditures (formerly F49)

SYS 835, Summer Short Courses (formerly G35)

SYS 840, Student Financial Aid in Extended Degree Program Administration (formerly G31)

[UW System Administrative policies are included for reference and are separate from Regent Policy Documents adopted by the Board.]