UW-L broke records
with the largest freshmen class in history. There were 1,990 freshmen
alone enrolled in the fall of 2013. The increase in freshmen enrollment at a
four-year public university in Wisconsin could be due to the UW tuition freeze.
Increase in
enrollment at the University of Wisconsin-La Crosse has increased to 10,427 students, 200 more than the fall of 2012.
Although there are
higher numbers at UW-L, the student enrollment at Viterbo and Western Technical
College has decreased. Enrollment rates at WTC dropped about 260 students and
about 60 students at Viterbo. For a freshman
living on campus at Viterbo, the cost is around $30,070 a year, depending on
financial aid – about double the cost at UWL.
WTC’s tuition is around $5,314 a year, depending on how many credits a
student takes. Most are commuters.
The
Associated Students of Madison Chair David Gardner
said, “This freeze will make higher education more accessible and affordable
for all current, prospective, students as well as allow students and their
families to plan for the costs of higher education and ensure a more stable
economic future.”
According to Wisconsin
Public Radio News, UW-La Crosse has its largest number of new students since
the mid-1980s. There are now more freshmen and transfer students enrolling. UW-Stout
has also seen an increase in student enrollment, but UW-Milwaukee’s
freshmen enrollment rate has gone down six percent.
According to the Wisconsin
State Journal, “The proposed tuition freeze
comes after a chaotic spring for UW, which started with amicable relations with
lawmakers and a proposed budget increase of $181 million. The System in April
proposed a 2 percent tuition hike each of the next two years, down from the 5.5
percent annual increase approved by Regents in each of the past six years.”
