The debut forum in a series on financing University of Wisconsin System colleges debated options for funding Tuesday night, as state sources of revenue are continuing to decline.
The forum featured three speakers from across the UW System who spoke on the difficulties in higher education funding and possible short-term and long-term funding plans.
Noel Radomski, the director of the Wisconsin Center for the Advancement of Postsecondary Education, emphasized the problems associated with the decline of state funding and the need for long-term saving strategies.
The decline in state revenue and higher education funding, which will likely continue over the next two years, has resulted in tuition increases and student debt, Radomski said.
“We as a state need to do a careful and quick analysis of how we can move forward,” Radomski said. “The question is how do we deal with state budget picture, which apparently isn’t going to change for a long time?”
Radomski argued long-term strategies for solving these funding problems include increased enrollment in specific areas, strategic enrollment and the elimination of certain academic programs.
Professor at the La Follette School of Public Affairs Andrew Reschovsky supported increasing overall state support for the UW System, resulting in an approval of state tax increases.
Reschovsky added with the long-standing gap between revenue and the costs to continue government programs, the cuts for financing means the state must increase the size of the budget or UW must reduce spending on other programs.
“We often hear the argument that you can’t possibly raise taxes in these difficult times, but I think one could design a system that has tax increases as part of a proposal for economic growth,” Reschovsky said. “This is going to be absolutely necessary to support our state support for higher education.”
UW System President Kevin Reilly said although UW has an annual budget of $2.4 billion for the 2010 fiscal year, only about a quarter of this budget is spent on educating students. Most of the public, however, still believes colleges could spend less while maintaining a high quality education program.
Reilly added the fierce resistance to raising taxes increases problems as costs for higher educational programs increase.
“We have to convince the state and the public that we have a vital role here for students,” Reilly said. “If we can convince them of that value proposition for higher education, then there are a variety of financing models we can use.”
Reilly also said while alternate options exist for the UW System to offset tuition increases and the decrease in state funding and provide assistance for families with financial need, these programs and the current funding system may not be enough in the long term.
Joseph Salmons, president of PROFS — a group that partially sponsored the event — argued this is a critical time to discuss financing issues not just for the UW System, but for American universities as a whole. He added later lectures in the series will feature Chancellor Biddy Martin to continue the discussion on higher education funding for the future.
