Wisconsin News

UW Board of Regents to vote on 2 percent tuition hike

June 3, 2026

Students attending Universities of Wisconsin campuses may have to pay more to attend school in the fall.

The Board of Regents is scheduled to vote Thursday on a plan to increase in-state undergraduate tuition by 2 percent. The proposal also includes an average 3.5 percent increase in student fees — together, the two would increase the estimated cost to attend one of Wisconsin’s state universities by an average of 2.5 percent.

If approved, it would be the fourth consecutive year of price hikes at the state schools after a 10-year tuition freeze was lifted.

According to a statement from the Universities of Wisconsin system, the tuition hike is below the inflation rate and “would help universities address rising operating costs while continuing to maintain affordability for Wisconsin students and families.”

“We recognize Wisconsin families are managing rising costs in every part of their lives, and that reality informed this proposal,” system Interim President Renée Wachter said in the statement. “This is a measured increase that helps our universities continue providing strong student support and high-quality academic experiences while keeping a UW education among the most affordable in the Midwest.”

Last year, the regents unanimously approved a tuition increase of up to 5 percent. Tuition was also increased by 3.75 percent in 2024 and by an average of 5 percent in 2023.

“I think that 2 percent is a very measured approach that we have worked with the universities closely on, and believe it is necessary to preserve the quality that we have for the Universities of Wisconsin as a whole and provide that high quality education that all Wisconsinites deserve,” Julie Gordon, vice president of finance and administration for the system, said.

Gordon said “affordability” was something the system had considered.

“I think this is something that we went into, as I said, in a very measured way to make sure that we could make this as affordable as possible,” she said.

The increase would bring in $21.9 million for the system, Gordon confirmed. She said the tuition hike will also help pay for the 2 percent wage adjustment for employees in the upcoming year.

If approved, resident undergraduate students at UW-Madison would pay $210 more in tuition, while resident undergraduate students at UW-Milwaukee would pay $184 more, according to the proposal.

“Even with the proposed increase, the Universities of Wisconsin would continue to rank among the most affordable public university systems in the region,” the statement said.

Not everyone is on board with the proposal. In a statement, State Sen. Eric Wimberger, R-Gillett, said he believes the leadership of the system “is continuing to pass its payroll expenses onto students and their families, when it should be cutting its massive bureaucracy and reinvesting its funds to create a more valuable student experience.”

“I think UW is falling into the trap of expanding the bureaucracy in order to satisfy the needs of the expanding bureaucracy,” Wimberger said in an interview. “And it’s, I think, to its detriment, and I think leadership needs to put its foot down and refocus on the fundamentals of what we need the UW system to provide.”