Chancellor Biddy Martin approved the first round of proposals for the Madison Initiative for Undergraduates late last week.

Out of 29 proposals submitted by the Oct. 1 deadline, eight were approved after being worked through an extensive review process that included the MIU Oversight Board, Student Board, Chancellor’s Office and Provost’s Office.

Approximately $3.8 million of the total $10 million available for the next two years was allocated this round.

There was no cap on spending for this round; rather, the committees were looking for which proposals addressed the three goals initially set out for the MIU. All the accepted proposals did that straightforwardly, said Aaron Brower, vice provost for teaching and learning.

Moreover, Brower said these first proposals very directly addressed urgent needs and appeared to have the most “bang for the buck.”

Brower was overall very pleased with the quality of proposals coming in this round, saying the hope was a tight first deadline would encourage proposals that addressed urgent needs like faculty hires, opening bottleneck courses and improving advising.

With the vast majority of funding for the initiative coming from student tuition dollars, Associated Students of Madison Chair and MIU Student Board Chair Tyler Junger said students had a very solid voice in the process.

Every proposal the chancellor approved came highly recommended from the Student Board, save one that concerned faculty hires in which the Student Board does not get a say.

Junger was most excited by a proposal that would create a shared notes system for student advising that would ensure consistency between adviser meetings by maintaining notes in a database. He said he was amazed something like this has not existed before.

“With this proposal, promises advisers make are going to be kept, which I think is a really good thing,” Junger said.

Other approvals dealt with cultivating international internship programs, creating an interactive online international student e-tutorial, and expanding First Year Interest Groups. An increase from the 30 previously offered, 60 FIGs will now be offered to incoming freshman.

Another proposal will fund short-term international study abroad opportunities and internships and internationalize course content.

Several other proposals dealt with faculty hires in the Business School, Chemistry Department and College of Letters and Sciences.

Any proposals not approved this round were returned with feedback for resubmission, Brower said.

Looking ahead to the next round of proposals tentatively due Nov. 15, Junger said the committees are expecting a large increase in the number of proposals submitted.

The biggest problem this time around, according to Junger, was the small amount of time the Student Board and committee had to review the proposals.

Brower said said he was happy to see fresh and unique ideas put forth in the proposals.

“It’s really inspiring,” Brower said. “It really makes you think that 10 years from now campus could really look different. We are really living through a special time.”

He added he hopes to see proposals that address the potential use of technology in education.

“In particular, the Google world we live in, and trying to take advantage of that,” Brower said. “What does education look like in a global world?”