The
University of Wisconsin Board of Regents will continue to explore
what can be done to maintain affordable textbook prices, as decided
at their monthly meeting Thursday.

The Business,
Finance and Audit Committee heard a report from
Julie Gordon, the director of UW’s Office of Operations Review and
Audit, on what is being done throughout the UW System to maintain
affordable textbook prices.

Gordon cited
a number of ways certain universities are keeping textbook prices
down, including rental programs, library reserves and swap programs,
and said "publishers have an influence on prices, but so do
faculty, institutions and universities."

She said
UW-Madison, UW-Oshkosh and UW-Milwaukee have all planned programs to
provide more information for students on which textbooks will be used
in each class.

Adam Porton,
member of the Wisconsin Public Interest Research Group, said one of
the organization's "biggest pushes this year is textbooks," and
suggested passing legislation requiring textbook companies to provide
certain information.

A major
issue, Horton said, is that publishing companies often do not provide
the price of textbooks when professors decide which to use, and the
first step is educating faculty.

"Faculty
often don't know how much books will cost before they choose the
books," Porton said. "Faculty don't have an incentive to
necessarily look for the cheapest deal."

The committee
decided textbook prices is an issue they would like to keep
investigating and asked Gordon to report back to the committee in six
months.

The regents
also heard a presentation from UW-Madison researcher Junying
Yu and managing director of the Wisconsin Alumni Research Foundation,
Carl Gulbrandsen, on the recently announced stem cell discovery that
found a way to convert regular cells into stem cells.

"I think
that this research is advancing very quickly and that other places
are doing this research as well," student Regent Colleene Thomas
said. "We have a chance to stay on the cutting edge of this. We
need to keep investing in it and keep supporting our scientists who
are doing so much — and keep those professors here."

Regent Danae
Davis, who chairs the board's education committee, said the
discovery is "just a reflection of the power of this campus."

"For us to
be groundbreaking in such a futuristic way is just phenomenal,"
Davis said.

There was
also a presentation on the enrollment increase throughout the UW
System.

Enrollment
has increased 2.1 percent between 2006 and 2007, totaling 173, 313
students who enrolled in a UW System school this fall.

Davis said
the increase was a "boost to the Growth Agenda" — a UW System
plan to increase the state economy by increasing the number of
college graduates.

"I think
it's very positive that we're seeing the type of growth that
we're seeing on most, if not all, of our campuses," Davis said.

The regents
also discussed the change in a faculty sick leave policy, requiring
them to report all missed days, which would preserve the benefits of
all state employees in the future, Regent Thomas Loftus said.

"For
faculty and staff, we value your service," Loftus said.
"Preservation of sick days and the guarantee that health insurance
will be there when you and your family need it is our goal."

The regents
also heard a presentation on a drinking study that found binge
drinking has decreased throughout UW System universities.

"I'm glad
to see the numbers are down … but I do think that it's still way
too much," Davis said.