Gov. Scott Walker continued his tour across Wisconsin campuses to discuss tuition freeze Wednesday as he made an early morning stop in Schneider Hall on the campus of UW-Eau Claire.

With the gubernatorial elections coming up in November, Walker spoke to a group of about 30 students about his commitment to education and keeping college affordable for families across the state.

He highlighted his two-year tuition freeze and proposed continuation of it as a way to make that possible.

“The decade before I was governor of this great state, tuition was going up about 5.5 percent each year,” Walker said. “Even in our first budget when our times were tough, we still made a commitment to maintain and increase financial assistance to the highest level its ever been.”

The Republican governor froze tuition two years ago after learning the UW System had a deficit in cash reserves reached around $1 billion.

“We want to continue to have some of the best campuses in the country, and we think we’ve got one of the finest systems in the University of Wisconsin system, but we want to make sure we keep it affordable,” Walker said.

Walker is running against Democratic opponent Mary Burke, a member of the Madison School Board, on Nov. 4.

As an ultimate goal, Walker said he wants students to have financial relief so students can spend more time studying and not worrying so much about part-time work.

Chancellor James C. Schmidt was proud of the fact so many students woke up early in the morning and got to campus in Wednesday’s early rain storm to listen to what the governor had to say.

“I welcome all candidates to campus, this is what universities are about to have civil discourse or ideas of the day to help people map out of their futures,” Schmidt said. “I personally welcomed the governor back when I had a few moments with him, and I invite Mary Burke and other political officers to campus.”