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Regents set to launch new accountability system

The University of Wisconsin System Board of Regents will convene Thursday and Friday, and among their discussion topics is a new accountability report.

The report will compile information from all 13 four-year UW System universities and 13 two-year schools on a website that will be called College Portrait, which prospective students can use to evaluate the schools.

"It’s an interesting project in that it provides, for the first time, some standardized measures of educational outcomes across institutions," UW System spokesperson David Giroux said.

The information will be collected through a serious of examinations, standardized tests and questionnaires administered at certain points in students’ educational careers, Giroux said.

Regent David Walsh said the website would provide valuable information to future UW System students.

"What we're trying to do is give [prospective students] all the information that they think is important," Walsh said. "We provide the information, the reader decides on how that applies to what they want."

Walsh said the report will hopefully supply prospective students with information having consistent standards, something national ranking are unable to provide.

"The problem is you shouldn’t just be picking up U.S. News and World Report and looking at somebody else’s information," Walsh said, adding students will be able to read what other individuals say about particular universities.

Walsh said, because schools in the UW System vary greatly and each student looks for something different in his or her college experience, the site will be useful for students who are looking for specific characteristics in a school.

College Portrait will be divided into three areas, including sections on student and family information, student experiences and perceptions and student learning outcomes.

The regents will also be hearing a presentation on UW-Milwaukee’s role in area charter schools.

As of 1997, UW-Milwaukee has been able to charter K-12 schools in the city, and the Board of Regents is able to authorize and renew the schools and will discuss standardization and the future of the program.

"I think there was a feeling on the part of a lot of board members that we wanted to, rather than just take it on a case-by-case basis," Pruitt said. "We wanted to take an overall view of what our role is and has been historically, and what it should be going forward."

The regents may also discuss an update on the biennial budget update if the committee is provided with a plan recommendation from the Office of State Employment Relations.

Depending of the recommendation, the regents may start a "discussion about compensation within the university," Giroux said.

"If the pay plan is 3 or 4 percent, we’re at least keeping pace with our peers or beginning to close the gap in some small measure; that’ll be one thing," Giroux said. "If it's 1 or 2 percent, and we’re falling further behind, then we’ll have a different angel on that story."

Giroux also said the regents will hear an update regarding the long-awaited budget that was passed last month.