University of Wisconsin System Regents Approve Tuition Increase

• The overall total cost of attendance for Wisconsin resident undergraduate students at the four-year campuses will increase 4.2% or $706.
• The board of regents discussed increasing tuition for high-cost, high-demand programs like computer science and nursing.
• The tuition increase is to preserve quality while adjusting for inflation, one regent said.

Students enrolling for the next school year at one of the University of Wisconsin (UW) system's 13 universities will have to pay more after the board of regents approved the first tuition increase in a decade.

The UW board of regents late last week approved a resident undergraduate tuition and fee increase for the 2023-2024 academic year. The increases vary by university. But the average tuition increase is about 4.9% for resident undergrad students, and the average room and board increase is 3.5%.

The overall total cost of attendance for Wisconsin resident undergraduate students at the four-year campuses will increase 4.2% or $706, according to the university system in a press release.

"It is important to all of us that a UW education continues to be affordable, but as resident tuition rates have been held flat for the past 10 years, inflation has increased a cumulative 26%, and it's time to use this operational lever," Regent Scott Beightol said in the release.

Beightol also proposed increasing tuition for high-cost programs that are in high demand by prospective students and employers, like nursing, computer science, and engineering.

"It is also essential for us as Regents to be responsible stewards of the value of a UW education, which means we must be mindful of both the affordability and the quality we offer to students," Beightol said.