UW System Students and Families Win With Tuition Freeze Extension

Nass: Governor Walker prioritizes families over UW System Officials    

Senator Steve Nass (R-Whitewater), Vice-Chairman of the Senate Universities and Technical Colleges Committee, strongly supported Governor Scott Walker’s call for extending the UW System Tuition Freeze for resident students for another two academic years (2017-18 and 2018-19).  Since the tuition freeze was first enacted by Governor Walker and the Republican Legislature in the 2012-13 academic year, the average UW System student has saved $6,311 over four years.

“The Republican tuition freeze has actually delivered significant savings for students and families. It has meant a lower debt-load for both students and parents.  The freeze must be extended to protect students and families from a spike in tuition at the hands of UW System officials who continually fail to deliver promised reforms and savings,” Nass said.

Nass noted that prior to the Republican tuition freeze enactment in 2012-13, the previous ten years saw UW System officials victimize families and students with an unjustified 118% increase in tuition.  While at the same time keeping the public and the Legislature in the dark about the accrual of a nearly $1 billion reserve.

“Over more than a decade, we have heard promises of reforms and cost savings to be implemented in the UW System.  Each time administrators broke those promises of cost savings, they opposed any legislative effort to save families money and utilized deceptive public relations efforts to hide their treatment of Wisconsin’s middle class” Nass said.