Tuition rates and access to University of Wisconsin System institutions have emerged as a major topic for debate among candidates. While it is good that UW issues are getting candidates’ attention, it is important for voters to have a deeper knowledge of what the facts are concerning some of the claims being made about the university.
For example, the candidates have been sparring over whether UW campuses give special consideration to nonresidents, both in cutting nonresident tuition and in granting special access. There is an implication that students from outside Wisconsin are favored at the expense of students close to home. Another contention is that students from outside Wisconsin are let in to UW institutions with lower academic credentials over Wisconsin students.
Nothing could be further from the truth.