The Universities of Wisconsin Board of Regents voted 15-1 on June 4 to raise resident undergraduate tuition by 2 percent for the 2026-27 academic year, the fourth consecutive annual increase approved by the board.
The hike adds approximately $210 to the cost at UW-Madison and $184 at UW-Milwaukee. Segregated fees will increase by an average of 3.5 percent, or about $56 per student annually. Combined with room and board, the total cost of attendance rises by an average of 2.5 percent, adding roughly $600 at Madison and $527 at Milwaukee.
The increase is projected to generate about $21.9 million in additional revenue, which university officials said will support employee pay raises, inflation-related costs, veteran tuition remission, and student success initiatives. Regents described the adjustment as below the current rate of inflation and necessary to address rising operating expenses while maintaining program quality.
Regent Timothy Nixon cast the sole dissenting vote, arguing the increase places an unfair burden on low-income students. Republican lawmakers have pushed back against the proposal, with some accusing board leadership of misleading the public. During an April 9 hearing before the Senate Universities and Technical Colleges Committee, Board of Regents President Amy Blumenfeld Bogost testified that “there is no tuition increase right now.” The board later advanced and approved the 2 percent hike.
This marks the fourth straight year of increases following a multi-year freeze that ended in 2023. The system received a $256 million boost in state funding in the most recent budget.
