On Campus
University of Wisconsin-Madison Chancellor Biddy Martin on Wednesday proposed increasing undergraduate tuition at the state's public flagship school by $250 to $750 per year for four years to pay for increases in financial aid for needy students and to add faculty and student services in high-demand areas. The plan, dubbed the Madison Initiative for Undergraduates, relies on more affluent families and private donors to subsidize financial aid for lower-income students and improvements to undergraduate education at a time when Gov. Jim Doyle is calling for budget cuts throughout the university system...
Six months into her tenure, UW-Madison Chancellor Biddy Martin announced a plan Wednesday that would essentially levy a surcharge on undergraduate students from higher-income families, responding to what she called an “urgent” need to improve affordability and the quality of undergraduate programs. After listening to students, parents, alumni and others over the past few months, Martin said she’s repeatedly heard that class sizes are getting too big, too many classes are taught by non-tenured faculty and access to high-demand courses and majors is difficult. “I’m persuaded we need to address the quality of undergraduate education right away,” she said...
University of Wisconsin-Madison Chancellor Biddy Martin is proposing a four-year plan to increase undergraduate tuition to maintain the school's quality...
Watch: http://www.c3ktogo.com/news-video/?mgid=21615
Most University of Wisconsin-Madison undergraduates would eventually pay $1,000 more per year under a long-term plan outlined Wednesday to improve quality and increase financial aid...At a news conference, Chancellor Biddy Martin said she was asking for students who can afford it to pay more to tackle the pressing priorities of improving undergraduate education and increasing financial aid. The $40 million in annual revenue it would eventually generate would be split up between those goals...
Chancellor Biddy Martin unveiled a bold plan that would raise the tuition bills of most UW-Madison students in an effort to preserve the quality of the institution, while also making more need-based financial aid available to those who are being priced out of the state's flagship university. "Her honeymoon is over now," said Noel Radomski, director of the Wisconsin Center for the Advancement of Postsecondary Education, a think tank on campus. "She's putting out a bold proposal. But this is a very good service, and I truly mean that, to put this out on the table for the public, the students, the faculty and staff to look at"...
In her first significant action since taking the helm at Wisconsin's flagship university, UW Madison Chancellor Biddy Martin has announced a new initiative, which she calls a major effort to preserve the quality of an education there, and improve its affordability...
...The plan would institute a gradual increase in tuition costs over the next four years...We believe this decision is a necessary and dynamic step for UW and one that, even in the face of a harsh recession, will lead to a much-needed boost in the quality and accessibility of our university...
In wake of the announcement of an initiative that would increase tuition, financial aid and academic services for University of Wisconsin students, Chancellor Biddy Martin will host a forum tonight to field questions, comments and concerns of students and other community members...
The University of Wisconsin-Stevens Point on Wednesday gave details on where it will slash more than $5 million from its budget..."It is being done by where we can find the resources and take those doing what we think is the least damaging to the campus," said vice chancellor of business affairs Greg Diemer. The cuts will be spread across two divisions: appropriations and tuition, and auxiliaries...
More than a month after Gov. Jim Doyle announced the state university system needed to cut $174 million, the University of Wisconsin-Parkside is now trying to figure out how to cut its portion - $3.35 million. By Monday all departments are required to submit budgets that cut 2.5 percent across the board to fill the governor’s expectations for the 2009-2011 budget, which is scheduled to be approved this summer. Parkside has a $73 million annual budget, and 40 percent is state-supported, said Dave Buchanan, spokesman for the school...
...Student Body President Tim Lauer said, in light of the current condition of Brewer Hall and the Campus School complex, the allocation of such funds to other campuses would have a very negative effect on UW-Eau Claire. "I'm just really disappointed in Doyle," Lauer said. "I feel that we are being jumped in line for the building." Lauer also said because Eau Claire is not as strongly focused on research as the Milwaukee and Madison campuses, Eau Claire has been neglected for several years. Lauer said the campus has not received a new state funded building in 27 years...
On March 17, Chancellor David Markee announced that he is planning to retire in August. Markee, one of the longest serving chancellors in the UW System, has served UW-P since 1996. Markee said he had been thinking about retirement for over a year and his age and health were two main factors in his decision. “I had some health concerns a year ago, and while those are coming along nicely, it makes you consider where the future is and what is possible,” Markee said. “Plus we have a real strong administrative team and faculty and they are moving forward in a positive way. Put all those factors together and it just feels right as the right time to move along”...
The University of Wisconsin-Madison plans to keep its search for a new provost an internal one, Chancellor Biddy Martin announced Wednesday. The provost is the university's chief academic officer and generally is viewed as the No. 2 official on campus...
This is war, says Ald. Robert Bauman. He's referring to comments Carlos Santiago, University of Wisconsin-Milwaukee chancellor, made Wednesday before the Common Council. Santiago spoke about UWM's efforts to obtain state funding for various projects, including a new School of Public Health, to be built near the former Pabst brewery, and a new School of Freshwater Sciences, to be built mainly at the current UWM Great Lakes WATER Institute, 600 E. Greenfield Ave...
Four female Wisconsin legislators encouraged University of Wisconsin students Wednesday to work collaboratively with UW police to prevent sexual assault on campus. UW College Democrats hosted the panel discussion featuring Rep. Ann Hraychuck, D-Balsam Lake, Rep. Sandy Pasch, D-Whitefish Bay, Rep. Kelda Helen Roys, D-Madison, and Rep. Donna Seidel, D-Wausau. The representatives asked students to take responsibility for one another at parties and bars as a first line of defense against sexual assault...
State
Members of the Wisconsin Coalition for Domestic Partner Benefits camped out on Library Mall on the University of Wisconsin-Madison campus Wednesday to encourage people to support their cause...
Cardinal Stritch University announced Wednesday that a major part of its planned $150 million expansion into St. Francis had fallen through, but the school, the city and the Archdiocese of Milwaukee all expressed hope that the campus would still be built...In a statement, the school cited the economic downturn...
Gov. Jim Doyle's 2009-11 budget plan is beginning to look like an onion — the more people peel back the layers, the more tears are flowing...The budget bill awards collective bargaining rights to University of Wisconsin System faculty — another issue that has languished without legislative approval for years...At some point, legislative leaders will decide which nonbudget policy items to remove from Doyle's budget. The answer ought to be "all of them," but these are five very good examples with which to start...
National
Applications to many overseas-study programs this summer and fall are down, and the economy may be to blame, according to a survey of study-abroad directors. More than half of the colleges and outside education-abroad providers who responded said applications to summer programs had declined from the previous year. More than one-third reported a decrease in fall applications... (paid subscription required)
A new research study -- based on simulations using actual student applications at competitive colleges that require the SAT or ACT for admission -- has found that ending the requirement would lead to demonstrable gains in the percentages of black and Latino students, and working class or economically disadvantaged students, who are admitted...
In an effort to streamline the pathway to postsecondary education, some educators and researchers have argued that challenging underrepresented and remedial students to earn at least two years' worth of college credit while they are working on a high school diploma can improve their outcomes. This model, known as an “early college high school,” has been catching on around the country and showing early signs of success...
President Obama defends his proposal to cut the tax deductions that wealthy Americans can claim for their charitable donations by arguing that the shift would not have an adverse effect on giving, but two independent analyses concluded that the proposal could result in a drop of as much as $3.87 billion for the already reeling nonprofit sector...But a report from the Center on Budget and Policy Priorities said total charitable contributions would decline by about 1.3 percent, while the Center on Philanthropy at Indiana University calculated that overall giving would drop by 2.1 percent...
There will be a lot of empty space at the University of Wisconsin at Madison's upcoming career fair for students from the College of Letters & Science. Last year, 43 employers turned out to talk up their internship programs and full-time opportunities; this year only 23 plan to attend...At colleges and universities across the country, students are learning about the vagaries of the job market the hard way, and they're not waiting till graduation. Internships are scarcer than ever...
