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Regents plan to restore UW partnership with the state

The state of Wisconsin must recommit to providing adequate, stable support if the University of Wisconsin System is to continue to deliver quality public higher education and ensure access for Wisconsin students, the UW System Board of Regents concluded last month following a year-long study.

"Additional cuts to (the UW's) base budget can only result in fewer instructors and reduced enrollments – there can be no other outcomes," according to the report, titled "Charting a New Course for the UW System."

Regent Guy Gottschalk

Regent Guy Gottschalk

Regent President Toby Marcovich

Regent President
Toby Marcovich

Former Regent President Guy Gottschalk, who guided the board study, says the final report reflects the input of hundreds of people, including regents, faculty, students and community members, who identified challenges and opportunities surrounding the landscape of public higher education in Wisconsin.

"We have taken a look at all of the possible actions for self-help and we did identify a number of items we can implement to make the university system more efficient," Gottschalk said. "However, we found no magic bullet – there is no way to adequately offset further state budget cuts such that they will not hurt our students," he said.

Regent President Toby Marcovich of Superior noted that the board released its report last month so the university could use its recommendations in crafting a 2005-07UW System budget

"The study makes a strong case for stable and strategically targeted state investments in higher education and for bureaucratic changes that will make the university more efficient," Marcovich said.

The report lists 27 specific recommendations intended to preserve student access, educational quality and service to Wisconsin, while at the same time, making the UW System more efficient and effective. They include:

  • Providing additional student financial aid to avoid pricing low-income Wisconsin families out of higher education;
  • Changing the way the UW System is permitted to do business, in areas such as capital building projects, purchasing and risk management;
  • Increasing funding for diversity initiatives to improve the UW experience and more closely mirror the state’s citizenry;
  • Giving the Board of Regents the authority to set competitive salaries, better manage unclassified positions and restore faculty positions for better instructional quality; and
  • Investing in information technology for both learning and research purposes.

The report outlines several serious and sustained national trends that are threatening the quality of public higher education across the country, including significantly reduced state support and growing demand for student access.

"Wisconsin finds itself buffeted by these same forces," said UW System President Katharine C. Lyall. "But being part of the crowd is no consolation. Wisconsin’s public higher education partnership with the state needs to get back on track."

"[This report will] provide critical guidance to the new president of the UW System," Lyall said. "I think it already has opened up new channels of constructive dialogue between the university, the Governor and state legislators."

"Wisconsin’s public higher education partnership with the state needs to get back on track."

–Katharine C. Lyall

Throughout the year-long process, study participants reviewed potential sources of revenue, and examined areas for increased efficiency and ways that new technologies can improve education.

Financial aid, emerging as one of the most important area of funding need in the next state budget, would be changed in Wisconsin through what the study refers to as a "hold harmless" program, a study recommendation that would provide grants to students from the lowest income levels to offset the costs of any tuition increases.

The study also notes the net loss of 670 faculty positions during the past decade, undermining classroom quality as well as the UW’s ability to attract federal grants and provide outreach services to the public. The study recommends hiring 300 new faculty over the next several years "to preserve educational quality and address strategic research areas."

In addition, the report emphasizes that the UW System must preserve and utilize its high-quality faculty and staff, provide competitive pay plans, and continue to address problem areas with flexible positions funded with non-state dollars.

The study also outlines a series of recommended management flexibilities that could be authorized by state policymakers, several initiatives the university could enact on its own if granted the necessary resources, and joint efforts that could be achieved with the support and collaboration of the state, the Wisconsin Technical College System or others.

"Wisconsin needs our graduates more than ever and the UW remains committed to helping improve the state’s economy," Gottschalk said of the importance of the study. "We need to work together for the future of Wisconsin."

-- The full report on "Charting a New Course for the UW System" is available on the UW System website.