University of Wisconsin Oshkosh. (Miles Maguire | courtesy of the photographer)

Republican lawmakers are proposing a state law to  limit tuition increases after the University of Wisconsin system approved another tuition hike earlier this month. 

The Board of Regents voted earlier this month to increase tuition by 5% at most UW campuses. UW-Green Bay is the exception with a 4% tuition increase after opting out of an additional 1%. UW-River Falls received a 5.8% increase in tuition to help support student success initiatives. 

According to the UW system, the increase will be an average of about $382. 

The draft bill, coauthored by Sen. Andre Jacque (R-New Franken) and Rep. David Murphy (R-Greenville), would prohibit the University of Wisconsin Board of Regents from increasing undergraduate tuition by more than the consumer price index increase in a given year. The authors said the latest increases were “roughly double the increase in the Consumer Price Index over the past year.” 

“Now more than ever, the Legislature must implement a common sense law placing controls on these types of skyrocketing tuition increases,” the lawmakers wrote in a cosponsorship memo. “That’s why we are again introducing legislation to cap tuition and fee increases for in-state Wisconsin undergraduates at levels no higher than the rate of inflation.”

UW spokesperson Mark Pitsch said in a statement responding to the bill that the UW is “among the most affordable across the U.S.” 

“It is critical that we have the flexibility to maintain the quality that students deserve and parents expect,” Pitsch said. 

UW President Jay Rothman proposed the tuition increases earlier this month following the signing of the new state budget, which provided a little over $250 million to the UW system — an amount that fell below the requests the system had said would be necessary to avoid tuition increases. 

“After a decade of a tuition freeze and lagging state aid, we believe we have struck a balance for students and families with this proposal and the recent state investments in the UWs as part of the 2025-27 biennial budget,” Rothman said in a statement at the time.

This is the third consecutive tuition increase since the end of the 10-year tuition freeze — a trend that comes as state funding makes up a smaller portion of the UW system’s budget.

State funding currently makes up about a fifth of the UW’s total revenue. In contrast, state general purpose revenue made up 41.8% of the UW System’s budget in 1984-85. 

Regent Ashok Rai said that even with the state investment, there continues to be a gap between the funding and the UW system’s ability to keep up with inflation and compensation increases for faculty and staff. 

“The proposed tuition rates will ensure that UWs remain affordable compared to our neighboring peers,” Rai said.

According to the UW, its tuition increased just 7.7% from 2015 to 2025 — a rate below the tuition increases for its peers in other states, which had tuition increases ranging from 21.7% to 28.8% over the 10 years.

Universities of Wisconsin President Jay Rothman said in a statement that the state’s universities have become dependent on tuition due to lagging state funding over many years, but the “turnaround” from proposed cuts to the state investing in the budget will help “preserve access and affordability” for students and families. Rothman and UW-Madison Jennifer Mnookin testify in front of the Legislative Audit Committee in April 2025. (Photo by Baylor Spears/Wisconsin Examiner)

University of Wisconsin system campuses will raise their undergraduate tuition by a maximum of 5% next year, under a plan UW President Jay Rothman announced Tuesday. 

The announcement comes just days after the state Legislature passed and Gov. Tony Evers signed a state budget that includes increased investments in the system by over $200 million for operational costs and over $800 million for capital projects. While the increases took a different direction from Republican’s proposed cuts, they are nowhere near the $855 million operational budget increase initially requested by the system last year when Rothman warned that tuition increases would be on the table if there wasn’t significant investment. 

Rothman said in a statement that the state’s universities have become dependent on tuition due to lagging state funding over many years, but the “turnaround” from proposed cuts to the state investing in the budget will help “preserve access and affordability” for students and families. 

“Preserving quality while maintaining our ability to be a leader on tuition affordability in the Midwest is a top priority,” Rothman said. “After a decade of a tuition freeze and lagging state aid, we believe we have struck a balance for students and families with this proposal and the recent state investments in the UWs as part of the 2025-27 biennial budget.”

Rothman will ask the UW Board of Regents to approve a 4% increase at all campuses for the 2025-26 year. 

Individual campuses would also have the option under his proposal of implementing an additional 1% increase. All universities except UW-Green Bay plan to adopt that. UW-River Falls is also seeking to increase its tuition even further by 5.8% to support “ student success initiatives.” 

Under the proposal, nonresident undergraduate tuition at each campus would increase by the same percentage or dollar amount. 

The system noted that most of the increases approved in the state budget are for specific purposes, including virtual mental health services, wage increases and addressing staff recruitment and retention. 

State funding today makes up about a fifth of the UW’s total revenue. The UW system’s 2023-25 biennial budget was $13.7 billion with 58% of that coming from program revenue, 24% from the federal government and 18% from general purpose revenue. 

In 1984-85, state general purpose revenue made up 41.8% of the UW System’s budget. 

According to the UW system, the average increase when segregated fees and room and board costs are included would be 3.8%. 

If approved, the increase will be the third consecutive year of tuition increases for UW since the end of a 10-year tuition freeze in 2023. The system said its tuition increased just 7.7% from 2015 to 2025, below the tuition increases for its peers in other states that had increases ranging from  21.7% to 28.8% over the 10 years.

The UW Board of Regents will consider the plan on July 10.

Here are the proposed resident undergraduate tuition costs for 2025-26 at each campus:

• UW-Eau Claire: $10,067
• UW-Green Bay: $8,985
• UW-La Crosse: $10,360
• UW-Madison: $12,166
• UW-Milwaukee: $10,916
• UW-Oshkosh: $8,993
• UW-Parkside: $8,658
• UW-Platteville: $8,812
• UW-River Falls: $9,249
• UW-Stevens Point: $9,477
• UW-Stout: $9,859
• UW-Superior: $9,272
• UW-Whitewater: $8,819