Regents OK UW Budget With Housing, Student Fee Increases

The University of Wisconsin System regents have approved the system’s $6.2 billion budget for 2017-18.

The regents approved the spending plan on a 16-1 vote Thursday afternoon.

The budget keeps undergraduate resident tuition flat as per a legislative mandate but raises student fees and campus housing costs by 2.6 percent on average across the system’s four-year schools.

The budget also restores $25 million that legislators didn’t give the system in 2016-17 and divvies it up between the campuses. UW-Madison supporters are upset with a decision to give the flagship campus only $2.9 million, saying the school typically receives about 38 percent of state aid and should really get $9.4 million.

System officials say UW-Madison’s overall budget is already up 2 percent from last year and other campuses need help.