UW System President Says He’ll Seek Major Increase In Financial Aid

University of Wisconsin System President Ray Cross said the university will be asking the Legislature for the biggest increase in financial aid funds in the system’s history in the next biennium budget.

Speaking at a WisPolitics luncheon in Madison this week, Cross fielded questions about the university’s strategy for increasing the racial diversity of the student body on campuses across the state. He said the best way to do that is that is to reduce the cost of tuition by increasing the amount of financial aid available to low income families.

“We will have frozen tuition four years in a row and that’s impressive,” said Cross. “But, we need to accompany that with an increase in financial aid, because we have frozen that for quite a while — so we have a number of students not gaining access.”

Cross said the university also has to take an active role in helping struggling families to prepare their children for college.

“I could have the greatest teacher in the world, but if the fifth-grader sitting in that class goes home and Dad’s in jail and Mom’s on crack, nothing happens,” said Cross. “We have to reach in beyond what we would normally … view as in our control in the classroom.“

To accomplish that, Cross said the university is considering creating a statewide tutoring program that will target students from minority communities. Cross also said the university should follow the lead of Minnesota where high school students can take univsersity classes tuition free.

“In the state of Minnesota, I think there are 30,000-plus students taking college courses in high school,” said Cross. “The state pays for that, and it reduces the time to degree over there.”

Accomplishing all of these things, Cross said, will require building strong relationships with the Legislature, which holds the purse strings for funding such programs.