The Legislative Audit Bureau released an audit on Friday, December 6, regarding state-owned residential properties, which includes properties own by UW System. The Audit indicated that the Department of Administration (DOA) has not formally revised policies pertaining to state-owned residential properties leased to state employees since 1975. Under provisions of ch. 16, Wis. Stats., DOA is required to administer state-owned residential properties that are managed by state agencies and leased to state employees. Certain employees may be required to reside in the properties as a condition of employment while other employees may opt to reside in them. The audit states the DOA has not completed an appraisal since 1995. The Audit also includes findings and recommendations specific to UW System. See the Legislative Audit Briefing Sheet for a summary of the report. The full report, including UW System’s response starting on page 55, can be found here,
Assembly Committee on Colleges and Universities- public hearing on December 12
The Assembly Committee on Colleges and Universities will hold a public hearing on Thursday, December 12 at UW-Oshkosh. The Committee will consider the following bills relating to UW System:
See the public hearing notice for more details.
Board of Regents Recap
The Board of Regents met on Thursday, December 5 and Friday, December 6 at UW-Whitewater. The event kicked off with the All In Wisconsin tour, which coincided with the Board of Regents meeting. Chancellor Watson kicked off the event discussing the university’s success in a variety of areas and highlighted the findings of UW-Whitewater’s new Economic Impact Report. In addition, Regents in the Education Committee voted to approve revisions to UW-Madison’s freshman admissions policy. They were also presented the annual report on the system’s academic programing, showing UW institutions implemented 38 new academic programs, with the majority in areas of high market demand. The Capital Planning and Budget Committee approved seven project requests, including UW-La Crosse’s request for authority to construct the $49-million Fieldhouse and Soccer Support Facility. A full recap of the December 5 meeting can be found here.
The Friday, December 6 meeting focused on education options that are available to nontraditional adult learners across the UW System. One way the System is expanding access to adult learners is by serving returning adults looking for opportunities in innovative online formats through the newly formed UW Extended Campus. See the UW System news release to learn more. In addition, Regent President Andrew S. Petersen provided updates on several ongoing searches, including the search for the next UW System President. As the search gets under way, there will be listening sessions to gather input from faculty, staff, other university stakeholders. Input will also be collected on the UW System’s presidential search website. A full recap of the December 6 meeting can be found here.
Meeting materials, including agenda and video webcast, can be found at the Board of Regents website.
All In WI Tour- recap of UW-Whitewater event
President Ray Cross and Regent President Andrew Petersen joined UW-Whitewater Chancellor Dwight Watson on Thursday, December 5, for the eighth stop of UW System’s All In Wisconsin tour to highlight the findings of UW-Whitewater’s new Economic Impact Report. The report showed UW-Whitewater injects $514.9 million into the regional economy, supporting 4,480 jobs and $198.7 million in wages and generating an estimated $23.1 million in tax revenue to the state of Wisconsin. See the UW System news release for a full recap of the event. UW-Whitewater was the final stop for 2019. The tour will resume in early 2020 and visit the four remaining UW System universities.
Assembly Committee on Government Accountability and Oversight- recap of December 4 executive session
The Assembly Committee on Government Accountability and Oversight held an executive session on Wednesday, December 4 to vote on the following legislation related to UW System:
- AB 370– state debt guaranties; delegations by the Board of Regents of the University of Wisconsin System; organizations affiliated with the UW System; and standards of conduct for certain UW System employees
The Committee voted to pass the bill in a 5-4 vote.
Senate Committee on Universities, Technical Colleges, Children and Families- recap of December 4 public hearing
The Senate Committee on Universities, Technical Colleges, Children and Families held a public hearing on Wednesday, December 4. The Committee heard the following bills relating to UW System:
State Building Commission Meeting on December 12
The State Building Commission is scheduled to meet on Thursday, December 12, 2019 starting at 9:30 a.m. See the attached meeting notice for more details. The agenda for this meeting is available on the DFDM website.
Senate Committee on Universities, Technical Colleges, Children and Families- Public Hearing on December 4
The Senate Committee on Universities, Technical Colleges, Children and Families will hold a public hearing on Wednesday, December 4 starting at 9:30 a.m. The Committee will hear the following bills relating to UW System:
- SB 497– recognizing teaching hours for providing certain extension services of the UW System
- SB 537– veteran-related tuition grants
- SB 228– Marquette University School of Dentistry rural scholarship program
See the public hearing notice for more information.
Assembly Committee on Government Accountability and Oversight- Executive Session on December 4
The Assembly Committee on Government Accountability and Oversight will hold an Executive Session on Wednesday, December 4 starting at 10:00 am. The committee will consider the following bill relating to UW System:
- AB 370– state debt guaranties; delegations by the Board of Regents of the University of Wisconsin System; organizations affiliated with the UW System; and standards of conduct for certain UW System employees
UW System President Ray Cross testified in opposition of this bill at the public hearing. View testimony documents here.
See the Executive Session notice for more information
State Education Policy Tracking
Are you interested in learning how state education policies stand throughout the Unites States? The Education Commission of the States has a resource that tracks education policy on a wide variety of education topics including enacted and vetoed bills, state education policy watch list, and an archive of state policy tracking for the 1996 through 2016 legislative sessions. Visit the State Education Policy Tracking website to see the resource.