Regents approve lifting UW-Madison cap on out-of-state undergrads

MADISON — The University of Wisconsin System Board of Regents has approved lifting the cap on out-of-state undergraduates at UW-Madison.

The system currently caps the number of out-of-state undergraduates at 27.5 percent of the total undergraduate population at each campus. UW-Madison Chancellor Rebecca Blank and system President Ray Cross asked the regents to lift the cap at the flagship campus for four academic years beginning in fall 2016. The school would still enroll at least 3,600 state residents each year.

Blank and Cross have argued the school needs to attract fresh talent to boost Wisconsin's workforce as in-state college enrollment continues to decline. Critics say the move is really about generating money; out-of-staters pay about $20,000 more a year than in-state residents.

The regents approved the change on a voice vote Friday.