University of Wisconsin System president Katharine C. Lyall fielded questions from a number of student journalists across the state Monday during a teleconference regarding issues such as the state budget, tuition and the effects of potential cuts on education quality.
Tuition and financial aid across the UW System were heavily discussed during the hour.
Students across the board wanted to know how they would be affected despite faculty and staff facing more immediate cuts.
“There’s no doubt it (the budget) is going to impact students, even though the sort of ground rules that are laid out for the regents and the campuses and all of us together was that we would first cut administration as much as we could without impairing our legal responsibilities to be accountable for the university,” Lyall said.
Some of the direct consequences of these cuts will deeply affect students.
“Students will feel slower service times in financial aid and in housing and in other areas where you get administrative services,” Lyall said.
Directly relating faculty and staff cuts to students is the potential cut in the number of courses and entire programs offered to students.
“You’ll probably have to wait longer to see an adviser. You’ll have a smaller choice of courses and sections because we’ll have to eliminate a lot of faculty and staff who are providing those sections now,” Lyall said.
The last measure that will be taken, according to Lyall, is the downsizing of enrollment in future years.
With enrollment higher than ever and tuition increasing, financial aid has become an aspect closely eyed by UW students. In Gov. Jim Doyle’s budget, he suggests an increase of $23 million in aid. This money would come from the auxiliary reserves, which are funds set aside to replace student centers and dorms, install sprinklers, care for facilities, and provide other maintenance.
Lyall stressed the importance of the Federal Pell Grant Program and the necessity for increases in this area on the national level.
“We have been very supportive of the movement to increase the average Pell Grant from 4,000 to 4,500 dollars.”
Out-of-state students were also brought up in connection to higher tuition and diversity issues. Lyall said that Plan 2008 and all attempts to increase diversity on campus are still as strong as ever. She said the programs UW has to offer are what will hopefully continue to attract out-of-state students to UW System universities.
Students currently enrolled at these institutions hope education quality will remain strong through administration and faculty efforts. Students expressed concerns on a variety of other subjects specific to their respective colleges.
Lyall said that the main priority of schools is providing the essentials at this time.
“We will try to preserve the services that are most essential to helping you graduate on time and getting the most from your program,” Lyall said.
Universities can begin to see cuts put into action as early as this upcoming fall.
“Everything’s on the table at this point …” Lyall said. “Within each campus, cuts are not across the board. Campuses need to make the decision.”
