Freezing tuition at the University of Wisconsin without adding more state funding to offset the loss has contributed to the system falling behind its peers and hurting its competitiveness, according to a report by the Wisconsin Policy Forum released Tuesday. Over the past decade, Wisconsin’s public higher education system has failed to keep pace with regional and national counterparts in key funding areas, and the risks posed by the COVID-19 pandemic threatens to only worsen the situation, the report found.“After years of slow erosion of funding and enrollment, higher education in Wisconsin faces a flash flood,” said the report, which examined funding, enrollment, tuition, research and development spending, and other factors.
