UW System Clipsheet

"UW System could $174 million cut, tuition increases of 5% to 6%," Milwaukee Journal Sentinel, Feb. 18.

The University of Wisconsin System faces a cut of up to $174 million under Gov. Jim Doyle's 2009-'11 budget, offset in part by estimated tuition increases of between 5% and 6% in each of the next two years, state officials announced Tuesday. Not all families will feel the effects of the tuition increase, however. In a new move aimed at protecting the middle class, families with incomes of less than $60,000 will be held harmless from the tuition increases thanks to a $38 million boost in state funding for financial aid...

"Budget freezes university funding, offers tuition help for poor," Wisconsin State Journal, Feb. 17.

University of Wisconsin System students might face bigger classes and fewer course offerings under Gov. Jim Doyle's proposed budget, but tuition for poor and middle-class students will not increase in the next two years. In a first-of-its kind provision for the state of Wisconsin, needy students from families that earn less than the state's median family income of $60,000 a year would be exempt from tuition hikes at System institutions...

"UW seeks help in Obama's stimulus," Badger Herald, Feb. 18.

President Barack Obama signed the American Recovery and Reinvestment Act into law Tuesday, dedicating a major portion of the budget to the promotion of higher education. The stimulus package includes an increase in the maximum Pell Grant award, more money for work-study and more tax credits for students and families paying for tuition and other college-related costs such as textbooks, said David Giroux, spokesperson for the University of Wisconsin System...

"School sets new military leave policy," Editorial, Royal Purple, Feb. 18.

Last Tuesday, UW-Whitewater set a precedent for all UW System schools. It wasn't made by our relentless football team, the state-of-the-art accounting program or even the one-of-a-kind wheelchair basketball team, but a smaller battle was won last Tuesday, when the Faculty Senate passed the "military leave policy." With combined efforts and input of the Faculty Senate, veterans club, Whitewater Student Government and the Registrar's Office, the new attendance policy will have a positive effect for all military-involved students...

"Pedestrian safety during UW campus construction," WKOW-TV, Feb. 17.

Parts of UW-Madison's campus are under construction and officials say pedestrians are putting themselves in danger by ignoring the signs...

"Budget 'shares sacrifice' by taxing wealthy, holding school spending steady," Wisconsin State Journal, Feb. 17.

Vowing that "everyone is going to have to share in the sacrifice," Gov. Jim Doyle proposed increasing taxes on smokers and the wealthy, holding school and university spending by the state to modest increases and cutting dozens of state offices to close a more than $5.7 billion budget hole. Doyle on Tuesday laid out a two-year $62.7 billion spending plan that he said keeps education, health care and middle-class families from being swamped by the recession...

"WisPolitics: Republicans say Doyle budget plan hammers taxpayers," WisPolitics, Feb. 18.

Gov. Jim Doyle called Tuesday night for the state's top earners, those earning capital gains, smokers and oil companies to pay more as part of his plan to balance the state's projected $5.7 billion budget deficit for 2009-11. In addition to the tax hikes, Doyle proposed using a mix of spending cuts and federal stimulus money to balance the budget while protecting education and public safety...

"Wisconsin Gov. Jim Doyle says budget makes cuts all over but protects schools," The Post-Crescent, Feb. 18.

Gov. Jim Doyle unveiled a two-year state budget Tuesday that he says protects schools in the face of a multibillion-dollar deficit. "This budget does not fund nearly what was requested, but it does provide an increase for our schools when almost everything else is being cut," Doyle said in an address to the Legislature at the state Capitol...

"Cuts and targeted taxes," Wisconsin Radio Network, Feb. 17.

Governor Jim Doyle goes after the rich, the oil companies, and smokers in his proposed state budget. Doyle calls for deep cuts in state spending - $2.2 billion worth - deepest in state history according to Doyle, who also says he has no plans to increase middle class taxes...

"Doyle proposes mixed methods to solve budget shortfall," WISC-TV, Feb. 17.

Facing a $5.7 billion budget shortfall, Gov. Jim Doyle offered his solutions to the fiscal crunch on Tuesday night by focusing on a mixture of tax increases, spending cuts and federal money...

Watch: http://www.c3ktogo.com/news-video/?mgid=21066

"Doyle details state deficit fix," Associated Press, Feb. 17.

Wisconsin's cigarette taxes would be the third-highest in the country, smoking would be banned in workplaces statewide, and big oil company profits would be taxed under the budget Gov. Jim Doyle presented Tuesday night. No state employees would be laid off or forced to take unpaid furloughs, and there would be no general sales or income tax increases. However, a new higher income tax bracket would be created for 1 percent of families who earn more than $300,000, and taxes on capital gains would increase...

"Doyle unveils plan with 'largest cuts ever seen'," Daily Cardinal, Feb. 18.

Gov. Jim Doyle's 2009-11 budget proposal unveiled Tuesday calls for sacrifices from taxpayers and smokers while attempting to protect education in the midst of the largest cuts the state has ever had to make...Despite these reductions, Doyle promised to protect education funding. Doyle also promised a positive balance of $270 million by the end of 2011. The budget will provide a $12 million increase for need-based financial aid but also includes a cut of $174 million over two years for UW System schools...

"Not perfect, but good," Editorial, Milwaukee Journal Sentinel, Feb. 17.

President Barack Obama has signed into law the biggest, most sweeping economic stimulus plan to emerge from Congress in many years. The plan isn't perfect - it takes too long to work in some cases, and we may need another one before this wretched recession is over. But it was the right thing to do...

"States' stimulus money is expected to be a salve, not a panacea," Chronicle of Higher Education, Feb. 18.

The nearly $54-billion that Congress is directing to state aid for education as part of the stimulus bill President Obama signed on Tuesday may stave off the worst budget cuts proposed for public colleges. But the money is unlikely to be able to plug all of the budget holes, and some university officials worry the measure could make it easier for states to spend less on higher education in the future... (paid subscription required)

"Obama wants stimulus to transform schools," USA Today, Feb. 17.

President Barack Obama wants to do more than save teachers' jobs or renovate classrooms with his economic recovery bill. He wants to transform the federal government's role in education. Public schools will get an unprecedented amount of money -- double the education budget under George W. Bush -- from the stimulus bill in the next two years. With those dollars, Obama and Education Secretary Arne Duncan want schools to do better...

"Security infiltrates college classrooms," USA Today, Feb. 18.

...There has been huge growth in the popularity of security-related programs since 2002, when the Department of Homeland Security was created, says David Silverberg, editor of the trade magazine Homeland Security Today. The programs began popping up at community colleges and online-only institutions five or six years ago, and now they are being offered at some of the nation's most prestigious universities...

"Student expectations seen as causing grade disputes," New York Times, Feb. 17.

..."I noticed an increased sense of entitlement in my students and wanted to discover what was causing it," said Ellen Greenberger, the lead author of the study, called "Self-Entitled College Students: Contributions of Personality, Parenting, and Motivational Factors," which appeared last year in The Journal of Youth and Adolescence...Aaron M. Brower, the vice provost for teaching and learning at the University of Wisconsin-Madison, offered another theory. "I think that it stems from their K-12 experiences," Professor Brower said. "They have become ultra-efficient in test preparation. And this hyper-efficiency has led them to look for a magic formula to get high scores"...

"UC wants the truth on student applications," Los Angeles Times, Feb. 17.

...Still, there is an element of hard-boiled sleuthing in the University of California's unusual attempt to ensure that its 98,000 freshman applicants tell the truth about themselves and their extracurricular activities. The stakes are high; UC enrollments may be canceled if students are found to be evasive or lying...

"The new reverse transfer," Inside Higher Ed, Feb. 18.

Stephanie Jamiot is a community college transfer student, but not the kind one might expect. Instead of following the steady flow of students who move from two-year institutions to four-year institutions, she is one of a growing number of so-called "reverse transfers" who leave four-year universities to attend community college...The recession has led to surge in community college enrollments this year, and some experts believe these "reverse transfers" are an important and sometimes overlooked portion of that growing student body at two-year institutions...