After individually reviewing and ranking 56 proposals from faculty and schools around campus, the Madison Initiative for Undergraduates Oversight Committee is one step closer to reaching consensus on recommendations on the remaining $3.4 million in funds.
The third round of proposals comes after Chancellor Biddy Martin awarded nearly $6.2 million for programs ranging from faculty additions to new student life programming during the second round last year.
Committee members said the three main objectives of MIU remain to improve student access to entry-level courses, focus on high impact academic areas and increase financial aid available to students.
The Oversight Committee heard short descriptions on each proposal and two committee members offered their perceptions on the merits of the case presented.
Submissions ranged from class offerings within the School of Business for non-business majors to adding a primatologist to the anthropology department to providing more resources to students coping with alcohol-related problems.
Also among the submissions were proposals to create a centralized entry point for students seeking financial aid, which is often widely distributed between the various schools and departments across campus.
Proposals to strengthen courses catering to English and Religious Studies majors were also presented for committee discussion.
A common theme emerging from the diverse campus organizations was the call for adding faculty positions in an attempt to eliminate bottlenecks for students enrolling in some of UW’s most popular prerequisite courses.
Dean of Students Lori Berquam said these bottlenecks affect the number of students completing their degree within four years, which remains a major concern for both Martin and the MIU Oversight Committee.
Berquam also said committee discussions have been insightful and productive in working to finalize the proposals to be submitted to Martin for final consideration.
“There’s a lot of really terrific proposals that will benefit students and the campus,” Berquam said. “The opportunities for students presented are both innovative and creative.”
Aaron Brower, vice provost for teaching and learning, said only about one-fourth of the proposals will be awarded funding.
He said after the committee made it clear which kinds of proposals would most likely be accepted in the first two rounds of deliberation, all the campus organizations submitting proposals “really stepped up their game.”
Associated Students of Madison Chief of Staff Tom Templeton said this round of deliberations was particularly hard for the Oversight Committee because of the strength of the proposals.
“When we’re left with the least amount of funding, we’re seeing some of the strongest proposals,” he said.
Templeton said the Oversight Committee is looking to add up to 20 more tenure-tract faculty members.
He added committee members will receive a ranked list of the proposals on Wednesday and will then decide on the allocation of funds before submitting recommendations to Martin.
Berquam said Martin will also rank the proposals and will have the final decision on the destinations for MIU funding.
Berquam said while Martin has not set a specific deadline to present the final decision, the chancellor’s recommendations were presented after about one month of deliberation during the second round of proposals.