MADISON -- The University of Wisconsin-Madison is raising the minimum wage for student employees and the pay rate for graduate assistants.
The school said in a news release Tuesday that the student hourly minimum wage is set to go up from $7.25 to $9 on Sept. 1. Graduate assistants will get a 2 percent pay increase July 1.
More than 10,000 student employees work at the school, including in dining facilities, research labs and libraries. The school has more than 5,300 graduate assistants.
Chancellor Rebecca Blank said in the release that raising the minimum wage "will hopefully provide an extra financial cushion" for students.
University spokesman Greg Bump tells the Wisconsin State Journal that 44 students made $7.25 per hour as of October, and 2,571 made less than $9 an hour.
