The University of Wisconsin System Board of Regents has approved a UW-Eau Claire plan to offer discounted tuition for students that graduate within four years if they want to further their educations.
The pilot program is a first for the state, offering a new deal for next year’s incoming freshmen: graduate in four years and any extra classes they need afterward will come at a 25-percent discount.
Chancellor James Schmidt said the goal is to increase the campus’s four year graduation rate. If successful, the program will mean less tuition coming to the university just after the campus cut a record $12 million from its budget. But Schmidt said timely graduation will be a selling point.
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“As we have a reputation for having our students get out more quickly, we will become more attractive,” he said. “I think by doing the right thing for students, we will be doing the right thing for the university as well.”
The board of regents approved UW-Eau Claire’s proposal unanimously at its meeting Friday.
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