University of Wisconsin Chancellor Biddy Martin hosted the fourth public forum on the budget crisis at Grainger Hall Thursday night, fielding ideas from over 60 UW staff, students and local community members.

The forum produced a variety of new ideas to increase UW budget efficiency — including a reduction in time-to-degree for all students — the creation of a “resource center” to streamline communications between university agencies and departments, and better monitoring of heating and cooling systems to ensure campus buildings are not wasting resources.

Martin did not see tuition increases as beyond consideration during this economic climate.

“I am not in favor of trying to reduce or even hold tuition constant under these conditions. If we are forced to raise tuition, it will come with increased financial aid so that we do not unequally affect students of low and middle incomes,” Martin said.

Last November, Gov. Jim Doyle announced a projected budget deficit of $5.4 billion for the 2009-11 biennium.

“We are anticipating a very difficult next six months to a year, and we will know more of the specifics on how the deficit will affect UW once Governor Doyle announces his budget in February,” Martin said.

The structure of the forums has been informal, with individuals being arranged into small groups discussing possible areas of increased efficiency and presenting their thoughts to the entire gathering.

The past three forums held last month were energetic and well-attended. The forums produced a wide range of ideas, such as performing an internal audit to look for duplicate courses, establishing a textbook rental program to make books more affordable to students and even moving to a four-day, 10-hour workweek.

This fourth forum was held by the chancellor as a convenience to students who may have missed the past forums due to final exam conflicts last month.

Student attendance was less than previous forums, but the students who did attend were vocal about their concerns.

UW senior Shuhan He, a biology major, advocated a peer-to-peer mentoring program for students to increase the effectiveness of classroom instruction.

“We need more chancellor feedback on the ideas presented at the forum, but I think the forum system itself is a great idea and shows the university community that [Martin] is serious about listening to our voices,” He said.

Martin said she remains optimistic about facing the challenges the deficit presents to UW, seeing it as an opportunity for the best and brightest to respond and create big, new ideas that secure the university’s future for years to come.

“The most pressing issue to me is the preservation of the preeminence of this public institution’s research and instruction capabilities while working with an impacted budget,” Martin said.

Martin went on to assure the forum she will work tirelessly with the governor and Capitol officials to emphasize the critical role UW plays in ensuring the current and future economic well-being of Wisconsin residents.