The University of Wisconsin System Board of Regents, led by president Katharine C. Lyall, convened for the second-straight day Friday to outline proposed solutions to cope with the future budget cuts Doyle conceded to in their Thursday meeting.
UW campuses have already started making cutbacks wherever possible due to the possibility of budget cuts announced last fall. For the future, Lyall mentioned that cutting administrative expenses wherever possible will in turn lead to slower services and longer waits for students, parents and legislators. However, these reductions are not expected to directly affect areas closely related to serving students, meeting legal requirements and generating revenues apart from state funding.
According to Lyall, the UW System must work to protect its future capacity to serve students and citizens as it makes short-term budget cut decisions.
Another plan for coping is to eliminate or merge certain academic programs and majors experiencing low enrollments, or those with parallel programs at other universities. Lyall also mentioned that administrators will attempt to make sure the same majors are not eliminated across the board to ensure students a place in Wisconsin to study in their desired field. However, for students to engage in some highly specialized programs, many may be forced to apply to out-of-state universities.
Cutting programs will result in the loss of several positions and personnel as well.
“Because our budget is 85 percent ‘people,’ we cannot generate large dollar savings without affecting jobs and people,” Lyall said at the meeting. “We will make these decisions as conscientiously as possible … and make every effort to assist employees in finding new opportunities within the UW System and state government.”
In addition to the loss of many positions and the possible loss of programs, students at UW will experience tuition increases that will place the UW campuses closer to the average tuition amount when compared to peer institutions, coupled with matching need-based financial aid.
“As you know, current UW tuition levels are at or very close to the bottom of our peers,” Lyall said.
The last measure taken will involve adjusting enrollment targets. This measure will only be enacted if all else fails. The UW System is already educating 2,600 more students than originally planned for and has successfully reduced certain costs by more than $20 million. These personal costs have been cut by reducing library hours, reducing the number of risk management and security staff, as well as reducing student work-study positions.
Discussion regarding the accountability report, presented Thursday, was resumed by Board of Regents president Guy Gottschalk, who reminded the board of Gov. Jim Doyle’s proposed $6.9 million cuts for the UW System this year.
“The good news is that he has exempted the university’s instruction budget from that cut and we are very grateful for that,” Gottschalk said.
Despite the budget cuts, UW alum Laurel Clark, as well as other members of the crew of the space shuttle Columbia, were commemorated. A memorial resolution was approved for Clark.
The resolution regarded the astronauts as “national heroes who were committed to fearless sifting and winnowing for the benefit of all humankind.”
In addition to the resolution, UW provost Peter Spear mentioned plans to honor Clark by establishing a scholarship for her eight-year-old son.
Specific to UW included the $385,000 in gift funds approved for a botany garden expansion project. Several other resolutions were passed in full and approved with regard to other UW universities.
