.
MADISON (AP) — University of Wisconsin System students who live in residence halls and have meal plans could be hit with fee increases averaging $335 this year, budget documents show.
Some students said today the proposed hikes for student activities, services and room and board seemed excessive during a recession. But one national expert said they are a bargain compared to those in other states and will help pay for improvements.
A $2.2 billion operating budget expected to be approved Thursday by the UW System Board of Regents would increase average room and board rates by $284 dollars, or 5.3 percent. Mandatory fees will go up an average of $51, or 5.8 percent. Both increases will vary by campus.
The fee increases come on top of a 5.5 percent tuition hike proposed last week, which would be less than $300 at the majority of the system’s 13 four-year schools.
"Fees often get overlooked because students pay more attention to the larger number of tuition," said UW-Madison senior Chynna Haas, 21. "But having that kind of steady increase is something that’s going to be hard for them to swallow, especially now."
But Wisconsin’s increases are at the "low end of the spectrum" nationally, said Barmak Nassirian, associate executive director of the American Association of Collegiate Registrars and Admissions Officers. Many other public schools are raising tuition and fees by double digits, he said.
"In general, it’s actually better news than residents of other states are getting," he said. "The one concern obviously would be to ensure the most vulnerable and neediest families are, to the extent practical, held harmless to the additional barrier that the costs represent."
Students from families who earn less than $60,000 will receive enough extra state and federal financial aid to cover the tuition increase under a new state program. But the extent to which fee increases are covered, if at all, depends on each student’s financial aid package.
Regents President Chuck Pruitt, a Milwaukee businessman, said the proposal accomplished a "difficult balancing act."
"We’re very sensitive to the rising cost of college, especially today and ensuring affordability is obviously really important," he said. "At the same time, the campuses are also responding to demands from students for improved services."
The biggest increase in costs will be at UW-Eau Claire, where an incoming freshman who lives in a dorm and has an average meal plan will pay 10 percent more in tuition, room and board and fees than last year. The lowest will be at UW-Parkside, where the total will be 3.3 percent more.
UW System spokesman David Giroux said the room and board hikes will help pay for new and renovated residence halls, maintenance projects throughout the system and for some campuses to add meal plans and extended dining service hours.
Much of the UW-Eau Claire increase, for instance, is for a program that will allow students to eat at dining halls from 7 a.m. to 11 p.m., which is expected to reduce student spending on snacks, beverages and off-campus meals.
The fees apply to all students and cover everything from student activities to health services and computer labs. The increases will pay for student-approved building projects on five campuses and cover rising costs in other programs.
The increases come as state lawmakers and Gov. Jim Doyle have cut general state aid to the system because of falling tax collections. Under the system’s budget proposal, tax support from the state will drop by $50 million, while revenue from tuition and fees will go up $70.4 million.
That means tuition and fees will make up 48 percent of the operating budget, compared to 45 percent last year. The additional reliance on students and their families is a trend being seen across the country, Nassirian said.
"The broader concern is that public higher education is being progressively privatized through cost escalation," he said.
.
Advertisement 
