News

Regents prepare for finance-focused meeting

The University of Wisconsin System Board of Regents will convene in Madison Thursday and Friday for their third regular meeting of 2008, tackling a smattering of financial issues.

The regents will address differential tuition and financial aid policies, which were brought up in the March meetings, as well as safety concerns with technology use.

According to UW System spokesperson Dave Giroux, approving differential tuition is the process of allowing a school to raise its tuition so the excess funds can go directly to special student-driven organizations.

The School of Business at UW-Madison has implemented differential tuition in the past and was allowed to have a slightly higher tuition in order to fund specific programs.

The board will be deciding whether UW-Platteville will implement differential tuition in the near future, according to Giroux.

“Platteville students have expressed a desire [for differential tuition] for specific programs, such as career advising. … 1.9 percent of tuition will be funneled directly into the programs students have helped develop,” Giroux said.

According to Regent Vice President Chuck Pruitt, the differential tuition proposal came to the board from students for very specific campus programs.

“The board has approved a number of differential tuition proposals from different campuses in the past,” Pruitt said. “This one will be reviewed by the business and finance committee on Thursday. If it has merit, they will send it on to the full board on Friday.”

The board will also be discussing financial aid policies within the UW System, according to the meeting agenda.

Pruitt said the newly proposed financial aid resolution mostly restates previous financial aid policies.

“The 1992 policy [currently in use] is not changing very drastically at all,” Giroux said. “We just want to clarify a few things … and shape the way we look at financial aid in the future.”

Pruitt agreed making sure financial aid policies remain relevant now and in the future is very important.

“The board will be looking [the financial aid policy] over, updating it and making sure it continues to capture current reality,” Pruitt said.

The board will also consider an audit report concerning computer network security on UW campuses. According to Giroux, the board will not be voting on any issues with regard to Information Technology but instead will be discussing the decisions they will need to address in the future.

“The board isn’t testing security,” Giroux said. “This is a review of policies and programs on campuses. There is no new policy up for discussion for this meeting.”

Other topics on the agenda are salary adjustments for senior academic leaders, approval to renovate Chadbourne and Barnard residence halls, as well as approval for various other renovation projects on UW System campuses. The board will also discuss bookstore contracts for several UW campuses and the approval of UW System policies for large information technology projects.