A five percent cut to the University of Wisconsin budget could mean the loss of 7,816 full time students, 986 faculty and staff, or an 8.4 percent tuition increase. These numbers are the result of a budget reduction exercise conducted by the UW System as required by the Wisconsin Department of Administration.

The cuts would not only drastically affect students and faculty, but would have an estimated $124 million impact on local economies in which UW institutions are located.

“Every state dollar invested in the UW System returns $9.50 in revenues. The state’s investment in the university is worth every penny,” said UW System President Katharine C. Lyall in an earlier meeting of the Regents.

A study released earlier this semester by the UW System said UW schools contribute 5.5 percent of Wisconsin’s 2000 gross state product and has created 150,699 jobs in Wisconsin.

The hypothetical analysis was done to show what would happen if a five percent budget cut was imposed upon the UW System.

The UW Regents also discussed a plan to allow credits earned at Wisconsin Technical Colleges to transfer fully to a four-year UW campus.

“Continued collaboration will benefit more Wisconsin residents and the entire state, as most UW and Wisconsin Technical College System graduates stay and work in Wisconsin,” Lyall said.

Wisconsin Technical College System President Richard Carpenter talked about students transferring to four-year public schools and finding out none of their credits transferred.

Under the new plan, each student would be guaranteed their credits would transfer.

Carpenter also talked about the creation of a new information brochure intended for state officials, educators, and others concerned with the transfer process.

The brochure details how far the UW System and the WTCS have come in their efforts to enhance transfer opportunities.

The recent cooperation between the UW System and the WTCS is the latest of an ongoing dialogue between the two systems that centers on creating better educational opportunities for Wisconsin’s students.

In recent years, the two have undertaken a number of other initiatives.

One was the creation of a Transfer Information System website to help educate students and faculty about the transfer process.

Another initiative was a number of agreements meant to address the state’s health care worker shortage.

WTCS students can now earn associate degrees in nursing and then transfer into collaborative nursing programs at UW campuses in Eau Claire, Green Bay, Madison, Milwaukee and Oshkosh.

Finally, the Academic Distributing Learning Co-Laboratory has been created and serves as the focal point for the nation’s universities to promote high-quality content for distributed learning that can be shared and used across multiple systems.

Lyall and Carpenter said 2,540 WTCS students have already utilized the system and moved on to the UW System while 3,091 have in turn transferred from a UW campus to a WTCS institution.

The regents will resume their meeting starting at 9:00 a.m. today in 1820 Van Hise Hall.