UW-Eau Claire to raise tuition during next four years

UW-Eau Claire plans to increase annual tuition by $1,500 after a four year phase-in period, beginning with a $375 increase in Fall 2010. The proposal, named the "Blugold Commitment," would provide students with better advising, more faculty mentoring, expanded global and intercultural immersion, collaborative research, and internships, UW-Eau Claire Chancellor Brian Levin-Stankevich said in a campus-wide e-mail. Funding would also be used to support up to 50 additional faculty and staff. In his state-of-the-university address, Levin-Stankevich said the Blugold Commitment proposal would provide a way for the university to improve educational quality, while increasing the number of students who earn their degree in four years. "The Blugold Commitment requires us to focus not only on the quality of our degree but also on the timely graduation of more of our students," he said. "The public demands it. Our reputation requires it." The proposal would make the overall cost of a UW-Eau Claire education more affordable by reducing the time it takes students to earn a degree because students would be paying for four years of tuition rather than five or more, Levin-Stankevich said in the address. "The Blugold Commitment is one of the most important commitments we will make as a university community," Levin-Stankevich said. UW-Eau Claire held a campus-wide student body vote for the proposal Nov. 24, and student government will vote on Dec. 7. Once the final proposal is developed with student support, Levin-Stankevich said he plans to take it to the UW System Board of Regents for consideration in February 2010. "There is currently no certain answer to the question of whether the tuition increase at one university would affect the system," David Giroux, UW System spokesperson, said in a Badger Herald article. UW-Whitewater Chancellor Richard Telfer said he did not read the entire UW-Eau Claire plan and didn't feel comfortable commenting about the situation. If the Blugold Commitment is approved, UW-Eau Claire would be the third school to implement a tuition increase in the last three years, joining UW-Madison and UW-La Crosse. UW-Madison is in the first year of its four year "Madison Initiative for Undergraduates" plan that will increase tuition by $1,000. In 2008, UW-La Crosse introduced a $1,000 charge for freshmen and sophomores.

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