UW-Green Bay ranks as Wisconsin’s ‘most affordable’

On average, UW-Green Bay students enjoy the lowest net costs of any four-year university, public or private, in Wisconsin.

That’s the official verdict from the 2013 federal College Scorecard issued by the U.S. Department of Education. President Barack Obama announced creation of the ranking system during his State of the Union Address in January, when he promised an independent way to spotlight schools that deliver positive results at an affordable price.

The Scorecard is primarily based on price, student debt and graduation outcomes. It determines net cost by subtracting grant and scholarship awards from total tuition, fees and room and board.

Tuition and fees for a Wisconsin resident attending UW-Green Bay full-time are $7,676 annually, with a tuition freeze this year and next. Because UW-Green Bay enrolls a somewhat higher percentage of first-generation college students and those from low- and moderate-income households, students here are relatively more likely to receive federal aid to offset costs.

Also contributing to UW-Green Bay’s top ranking are a competitive graduation rate, moderate charges for housing and food plans, and a median debt figure of $13,580, well below average and the lowest among UW System institutions. (The scorecard calculates “median borrowing” by tracking federal education loans and assigning them to the schools at which they were incurred.) Only 4.2 percent of UW-Green Bay borrowers defaulted on their student loans within three years of repayment, one-third the national average. You can browse the College Scorecard at www.whitehouse.gov/issues/education/higher-education/college-score-card