Since 2004, UW-Madison tuition increased at a greater rate for Wisconsin residents

Pat Schneider:

Tuition at UW-Madison is the topic of much scrutiny and debate, as the news of a second year of $1 billion fund reserves prompted Gov. Scott Walker to call for a second tuition freeze.

How high is tuition at UW-Madison?

Higher than it was — especially for Wisconsin residents — and lower than it is at comparable public institutions.

Homegrown Badgers continuing a family tradition of attending the UW-Madison paid a whopping 77 percent more in tuition and fees to enter as a freshman this year than their brothers and sisters did a decade ago, according to UW-Madison’s Data Digest.

Academic year resident tuition and fees rose from $5,866 in 2004-2005 to $10,403 in 2013-14.

Non-resident undergraduate students pay substantially more to attend UW-Madison than residents, then and now.

Tuition and fees for non-residents was $19,866 in 2004-05 and $26,653 this year, a 34 percent increase, less than half the rate of increase absorbed by resident students.

Tuition is lower at UW-Madison — for resident and non-resident undergraduates — than the average for other public Big Ten universities.