MADISON – University of Wisconsin System President Katharine C. Lyall will present the UW System’s 2000-01 annual operating budget, which includes a tuition freeze for resident undergraduates, to the Board of Regents at their June 8 meeting held in Milwaukee.
“This budget reflects the priorities of our 1999-2001 budget request that was approved by the Legislature last fall,” Lyall said.
“There is funding to strengthen our library collections, train students to use instructional technology, and expand study abroad opportunities to prepare our graduates for work in the global economy. There are funds, as well, for pre-college and other programs within the scope of Plan 2008 to ensure that all Wisconsin citizens can aspire to higher education,” said Lyall. Plan 2008 is UW System’s initiative to achieve educational quality through racial and ethnic diversity.
The UW System’s $3.1 billion annual operating budget for 2000-01 allocates funding increases for the second year of the current biennium, based upon the final State budget that was passed last fall, including:
- $3.8 million to allow for an additional 1,000 student enrollments;
- $1.7 million to hire additional student information technology workers;
- $2.4 million for library acquisitions, the statewide interlibrary loan delivery system, and electronic access;
- $500,000 for need-based study abroad grants to students; and
- $1.7 million for Plan 2008 programs.
Another budget provision would allow UW-Milwaukee to transfer $800,000 from parking one-time surplus auxiliary funds to partially fund the installation cost of the Online Access Student Information System (OASIS). This project will address the rapidly expanding technology needs of students, their advisors, their faculty and supporting staff in addition to replacing aging and outdated systems.
While resident undergraduates will have no tuition increase in 2000-01 due to the second year tuition freeze enacted by the Legislature, tuition will increase 7 percent for non-resident undergraduates and resident and non-resident graduates at all institutions except UW-Madison. At UW-Madison, tuition will increase 8.6 percent for non-resident undergraduates and most resident and non-resident graduate students. The additional
1.6 percent increase is part of the funding package for the Madison Initiative, which leverages public and private funds to recruit and retain faculty and maintain quality at the UW System’s flagship institution.
Segregated fee rates would increase by an average of 12.36 percent at the 13 four-year institutions, and 2.7 percent at the 13 UW colleges. Over half of the fee increase at the four-year campuses, on average, was initiated by students. That is, students have assessed themselves a 6.8 percent or $30.27 segregated fee rate increase, on average, for items such as student programming and organized activities, new or remodeled facilities associated with student life and, at UW-Whitewater, a student research program.
“This budget allows us to keep the UW System moving forward on behalf of our students, the institutions, and Wisconsin,” Lyall says. “It also puts us in a good position as we begin to develop our budget proposals for the next biennium.”
Contact:
Sharyn Wisniewski, UW System
(608) 262-6448