UW Tuition May Be Waived for Katrina Victims

The Beloit Daily News reports today that the UW Regents have moved to waive fall 2005 tuition for students displaced by Hurricane Katrina.

Board President David Walsh said the waiver could be made official as early as next week for students who transferred to the University of Wisconsin after the storm closed their Gulf Coast schools.

In the meantime, the board agreed Friday not to bill the affected students for the fall term.

If legislators object, the regents could set a special tuition rate for them later. The board voted unanimously that any special tuition rate would not exceed that set for state residents.

Two hundred students are now in the UW system, thanks to Katrina - 100 of them at Madison, and 25 of them at Milwaukee. The legislature will have to approve the decision, which I endorse. My single hope is that they will set up a fund to offset the costs, if any, rather than tapping tax dollars for these students.

Katie Nix, 18, of Racine, who enrolled at the UW-Madison campus after evacuating the Tulane University campus the same day she arrived as the storm approached Aug. 26, said the regents' action was a great move."It makes it a lot easier for all of us," she said.

Nix - who has been told that her belongings in Tulane's dorm are safe - says she will return to Tulane. That's as it should be. But I am sure that fellow Badgers are glad to help her now, and will be happy if she decides to stay in our beautiful state.