By Cynthia Hodnett
www.greenbaypressgazette.com

Increasing tuition costs are limiting state students’ chances of attending and affording college, according to a study released today by the National Center for Public Policy and Higher Education.

Wisconsin went from a C for affordability in 2002 to a D in 2004, the worst grade the state received in the report this year.

Both public and private colleges nationwide have experienced a 38 percent increase in costs over the past 10 years, according to the College Entrance Examination Board, a nonprofit group that offers resources to schools, students and parents including guidance counseling and student assessment.

The 2003-05 state budget calls for a $250 million cut to the University of Wisconsin System.Tuition at UW-Green Bay could increase $172 a year.

UW-Green Bay’s in-state tuition and fees for a full-time student this academic year are about $5,154 for residents and $15,200 for nonresidents. State residents paid about $4,654 for tuition and fees in 2003-04 and nonresidents paid $14,701.

“Even though the price of tuition is going up, it’s still very reasonable and there’s an expectation that students can contribute financially to their higher education,” said Sue Keihn, dean of students and associate provost for student services at UW-Green Bay.

This year at St. Norbert College, tuition for a full-time student, before financial aid, is $21,210 compared with $19,822 in 2003-04. Residents and nonresidents pay the same for tuition. Full-time undergraduate students living on campus would pay about $27,500.

“We lose probably about 40 percent of students each year who could attend St. Norbert from an academic perspective,” said Dan Meyer, dean of enrollment management at St. Norbert College. “They don’t look at St. Norbert or any other private school because of the cost.”

About 94 percent of students attending private colleges in the state receive financial aid, reflecting a recent push by private colleges to provide more scholarships and other financial aid to offset costs, said Rolf Wegenke, president of the Wisconsin Association of Independent Colleges and Universities.

The average cost for tuition and fees at the 20 private colleges in Wisconsin in the 2002-03 academic year was $16,977, and the average financial aid package was $13,299, Wegenke said.

“It (the study) doesn’t consider privately raised financial aid as in private colleges, so it’s not an accurate picture,” he said. “Private colleges generally get more private aid, not money from the government.”

Wisconsin’s private colleges do a better job than the national average in making private aid available to the students, he said.

“It’s reflected in our enrollment,” he said. “Nationwide, 20 percent of all college students are private students; here it’s 25 percent. That shows we make a stronger effort to make it more accessible to all students.”

But despite the amount of financial aid they could receive, some students, especially those from low-income families, don’t think they can afford college, said Paula Geishirt, a counselor at Green Bay East High School.

One option for high school students, Geishirt said, is to attend a technical college for a few years and transfer their credits to a four-year school.

Credits earned at technical colleges in the Wisconsin Technical College System are usually transferable to most four-year UW schools. The average costs for tuition and books for a full-time student at Northeast Wisconsin Technical College is about $3,000 according to college officials.

“I tell kids never not go to college because you feel you can’t afford it; there is a way,” Geishirt said. “There are scholarships, loans. But for some of these kids who have to live day by day, taking out a loan is very scary. It’s a lot of money for them to pay back. But it’s an investment in their future.”

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