2008 Woodie Awards
Hixson announces financial aid proposal
Mike Daly
Issue date: 2/20/08 Section: News
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Under the bill, the funds designated for tuition grants, Lawton grants and higher education grants would automatically increase at the same rate of tuition costs. The legislation, which comes with a $17 million price tag, would affect students who are Wisconsin residents and attend school in the UW System, as well as those enrolled in state technical and tribal colleges. The policy stems partly from a 125 percent increase in UW-Whitewater's in-state tuition costs during the past 10 years. A UW-Whitewater education that cost $2,312 in 1998 now costs $4,728.
Himself possessing a four degrees, Hixson stressed the importance of higher education, as well as the conflicts faced by many UW System students.
"I truly believe that higher education should be accessible to everyone regardless of income," he said. "Success and higher education should not depend on the size of you or your parents' bank account."
The plan also forces textbook publishers to disclose prices to school faculty. If a textbook publisher solicits an instructor, the publisher must provide a history of revisions, and the price at which the textbook would be sold to the students. Hixson believed such information would allow professors to make informed decisions about which books they require students to purchase.
"By requiring disclosure and choice, we can provide affordable materials without sacrificing academic quality," he said.
Moreover, bookstores would be forced to promote buy-back programs in an effort to lower the cost of used books.
To confront what he labeled "a lack of professional medical care available to students who are uninsured," Hixson advocated the implementation of a student health care cooperative.
The cooperative would allow students to pool their money collectively, thus providing health care benefits for themselves and their dependents under one health care plan through a three-year contract with an insurer. The policy would apply to any full-time student who has resided in Wisconsin for at least 12 months.
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