As the Madison Initiative for Undergraduates Oversight Committee works its way through hundreds of pages detailing academic need on the University of Wisconsin campus, the 114 proposals move closer every day to hitting the desk of Chancellor Biddy Martin.

The proposals recently passed through initial review by the Student Oversight Board, which selected 22 of the 114 proposals for recommendation to the chancellor. Of those 22, 11 were designated as highly recommended.

Explored below, these are by no means the 11 finalized submissions that will receive funding from MIU funds, but they will help shape Martin’s final say when the proposals are presented to her Feb. 16 alongside the recommendations of the committee.

CCAS/Housing after hours and expanded advising

Combined from two proposals submitted by the Cross-College Advising Service and University Housing, this proposal would allow for expanded advising in university residence halls and the implementation of an after hours advising program at College Library.

The proposal, amounting to $245,000, would allow current offices in dormitories to be updated and supply additional manpower to provide adequate resources once the Lakeshore area is expanded under the campus Master Plan.

While the expanded residence hall resources would focus on freshmen, additional resources at College Library would be located on the first floor and open to all students. According to the proposal, academic advising would most likely be available between 6 and 10 p.m.

Biomedical engineering faculty

Citing high demand for the biomedical engineering undergraduate program at UW, this proposal would allow the major to admit an estimated 75 instead of 45 students each year.

The proposal would make the expansion possible through the addition of two faculty members, three faculty associates, additional classified staff and teaching assistants.

If fully implemented after three years, the faculty would cost $591,503 each year to maintain.

School of Business faculty/TAs, tax form aid

Another proposal from the School of Business would expand business opportunities for students not pursuing a degree from the school itself. The proposal asks for two faculty members and four half-time TAs, amounting to $400,000 worth of salaries.

The proposal would also create a program to aid low-income students in applying for financial aid. With a budget of $100,000, the program would enable student volunteers to help others with tax and financial aid forms.

In total, the proposal would cost $500,000 each year.

Consumer science faculty

A proposal from the consumer science department would require the hiring of six faculty members, three academic staff positions, 11 half-time TAs and an undergraduate program coordinator, among others.

According to the proposal, without the additional resources, the department would be forced to reduce students in the department by about 65 percent.

If fully implemented over a four year period, the proposal would use $999,381 in MIU funds each year, plus startup costs.

Computer science faculty

Citing inadequacies in the UW computer science department when compared to peer institutions, this proposal would put in place 10 new faculty members and 15 TAs.

Along with increasing opportunities for majors and undergraduate research, the proposal would allow increased opportunities for non-majors wishing to take courses in the department.

If fully implemented after four years, the additional academic positions would cost $1,591,890 each year.

French assistant professors

Proposed by the Department of French and Italian, this proposal would hire three assistant professors to increase access to in-demand courses for French majors. Those hired would have specialties in areas such as women’s studies, philosophy and history to fill in interdisciplinary fields of knowledge the department currently lacks.

The proposal requests a total budget of $181,500.

Certificate in written communication

This proposal to create a Letters & Sciences certificate in writing would allow students to pursue a middle ground in writing between the beginning courses and graduate studies currently offered at the university, according to co-proposer and English professor Deborah Brandt.

Two faculty members and a half-time administrative assistant would allow students to enroll in the 15-credit track.

The additional faculty and administrators would cost $203,227 each year.

Political science TAs and lecturers

A proposal from the Department of Political Science would provide funding to hire 15 TAs and two lecturers, and increase responsibilities for four existing lecturers.

According to the proposal, students taking courses in the department have voiced a need for more contact time with instructors.

This proposal would cost $314,714 per year.

McBurney Center software

This proposal would allow for the implementation and operation of web-based software to allow deaf and hard of hearing students to make requests for an interpreter or captioner services online. Currently, students are matched with services by a human employee.

“In a very significant and deep way, this would impact a smaller group of students and allow them to interact with a larger group of students,” McBurney Center Director Cathy Trueba said. “If you do something for deaf students, you’ve only done something for a few students, but all the students they participate with benefit from that too.”

According to the proposal, the time to fill students’ requests would be potentially reduced from more than 60 hours to less than 15.

The proposal would cost $29,000 each year.

Spanish faculty

Citing intense bottlenecks in courses necessary to declare a Spanish major, this proposal would allow the department to hire six faculty members over the course of three years. According to the proposal, this would allow 24 new sections to be created, allowing access for approximately 550 additional students.

The additional faculty, if fully implemented after three years, would incur costs between $120,000 and $180,000.

Economics of Natural Resources and the Environment faculty

A joint proposal from four departments, this proposal would hire two faculty members, two TAs and a student services coordinator to expand opportunities in environmental and natural resources education.

With these new positions, departments would be able to preserve and add several applied economics courses, start a summer internship program and expand undergraduate research.

The proposal says approximately 400 students would be able to enroll in the additional courses each year.

After four years, the proposal would cost up to $422,402 each year.

What was different this time around

Adam Sheka, a member of the Student Oversight Board, said the academic department-centered nature of the spring proposals marked a shift from the first round in the fall.

Several proposal authors said they benefited from participating in the first round, including from McBurney, resulting in a higher quality proposal for the second.

Once the proposals work their way through the general oversight committee, they will hit Martin’s desk Feb. 16. Another round of reviews will occur over the next two springs.