Across the UW System: Budget cuts are hurting students

MADISON―The UW System made great efforts this year to manage $250 million in budget cuts while minimizing erosion of the quality for which the university is known. But in the end, the negatives are far outweighing the positives.

The 2003-05 state budget forced the UW System to reduce faculty and staff by 650 positions. In doing so, each UW campus took steps to maintain instructional capacity by taking greater position cuts in other areas – academic support, physical plant and administration. Student instruction and support services were largely protected this year, but eliminating these positions is an ongoing challenge for UW campuses.

In other good news, UW-Green Bay reports that the campus had a record enrollment of full-time equivalent students this Fall semester. The record is especially notable as UW-Green Bay was among the first campuses in the UW System to close applications for the Fall 2003 semester.

Despite these examples of progress during tight financial times, the detrimental effects of budget cuts are much more widespread.

Student services

Positions in many non-instructional areas have had to remain vacant, and slower service is readily apparent in many administrative areas. Reductions in central student services administrative offices at UW-Madison meant a loss of key student services positions and fewer resources to improve the processing of freshman and new student transfers.

In addition, several offices that provide a broad range of direct services to students now have fewer staff to provide these important services, including the UW-Madison Student Organization Office, the Multicultural Student Center, and the McBurney Disability Resource Center.

Other examples include:

Reduced staffing in student affairs and administrative offices, slowed student financial aid processing, cashiering, and reduced access to other services at all UW institutions. Students are having to wait longer for necessary appointments or to receive basic student services.
UW-Madison was required to reduce academic support staff by the equivalent of more than 15 full-time positions. The reductions diminish School and College capacity to provide essential support in the areas of payroll, fiscal processing, grants management, and advising.
At UW-Stout, students have fewer opportunities for quality career counseling and support, due to cutbacks of 1.25 full-time staff in UW-Stout’s Placement Office.

Course offerings

Budget cuts have also forced downsizing of course offerings, slowed graduation cycles, and limited public service support and cooperative efforts with businesses and industries. For example:

UW-Green Bay was required to cut $186,000 in funding for ad hoc instructors, leaving about 540 students without seats in some classes they will need.
As a result of the budget reductions at UW-Platteville, upper division courses will be offered less often, some only every year or every other year, rather than every semester. This may result in increased time to degree for students who need these courses.
UW-Stevens Point will not be offering a major in Communication Technology Management.
UW-Whitewater was forced to reduce more than 30 lost positions, more than half of which were instructional staff, resulting in a loss of 100 course sections.
UW-Extension was required to reduce Continuing Education programs in the areas of Governmental Affairs, Education, Health & Human Issues, and Liberal Studies.
At UW-Madison, mandated reductions to the State Laboratory of Hygiene and the Wisconsin Veterinary Diagnostic Laboratory will result fewer available testing services provided to the DNR, and diminished capacity to provide expertise and respond to public and environmental health emergencies.
UW-Superior has been forced to eliminate its Emerging Technology Center, which was an initiative designed to provide students with experience in a “real world” situation and provide service to the community.

Classroom changes

Due to reductions in full-time faculty positions, UW campuses have increased hiring of teaching academic staff or ad hoc staff. While competent instructors, academic and ad hoc staff do not typically advise students, nor do they serve on committees. These reductions have meant full-time faculty are taking on more advisees and committee appointments, resulting in less time for students and less consistent advising.

In addition, cutbacks have meant significant growth in the size of classes at some campuses, reducing the chances students have to work one-on-one with faculty members. At UW-Oshkosh, for example, most class sizes were required to increase by approximately 10-15 percent.

Technology

Reductions to technology resulted in a systemwide slow-down of the current replacement cycle for desktop computers, as well as reduced hours of operation for student computer labs and less technical support for students on campus. Examples include:

At UW-Madison’s Division of Information Technology, discreet support functions were eliminated along with permanent positions. The 24-hour telephone operator service was also disbanded, and staff and support resources for the Integrated Student Information System were severely reduced.
At UW-La Crosse, reduced numbers of several IT administrative positions have meant decreased efficiency of services to students, faculty and staff and are delayed efforts to provide more self-service programs via the Internet.

Libraries

Overall reductions to campus library budgets have meant fewer book purchases, serial subscriptions, databases, microfilm and reference books that support research and instruction. For example, UW-Madison’s General Library System was required to cut over $100,000 in GPR from its collections budget. At UW-Stout, approximately 200 books, videos and CDs will not be purchased for the Library Learning Center main collection, despite requests for these items from faculty seeking support their teaching and research on an ongoing basis.

Campus facilities

Systemwide, campuses have had to cut down on custodial and maintenance services due to reductions to physical plant and facilities departments. For example:

As a result of the reductions to the Physical Plant at UW-Madison, an estimated 2,300 fewer maintenance calls will be answered per year and the deferred maintenance backlog will increase.
At UW-Whitewater, large Physical Plant reductions further exacerbate the deficiency of funding in this area. As a result, priority will have to be given only to the most critical maintenance and repair needs, thus causing an increase in the maintenance backlog on campus.

Are you feeling the effects of budget cuts on your campus? E-mail wisconsinideas@uwsa.edu to share your story.