Concerned that the majority of Gov. Scott Walker’s proposed budget cuts would impact the education side more than the administrative side, Chancellor Rebecca Blank said she would work with administrators to help evenly spread the impact of the cuts at a budget forum Monday.

Undergraduate students gathered to express their thoughts on the proposed budget cuts — $300 million over the next two years — at a student forum hosted by University of Wisconsin’s student government.

The panel was made up of Dean of Students Lori Berquam, Vice Chancellor of Finance and Administration Darrell Bazzell and Associate Vice Chancellor for Government and Corporate Affairs Charles Hoset, as well as Blank.

Blank said there was no way to avoid budget cuts, though their extent has not been determined yet.

“There is a lot we still don’t know,” Blank said. “We are in the midst of a process.”

Students and alumni asked questions and shared concerns with the panel regarding tuition, diversity, shared governance and the details of what the public authority model would mean for students.

A number of students were particularly concerned with out-of-state tuition and the future of the Minnesota reciprocity tuition system, which the administration said was not grounds for concern.

“There is no one that I know of that is interested in getting rid of reciprocity, you won’t see very much change there at all,” Blank said.

https://twitter.com/BeckyBlank/status/570051010200264705

However, Blank said she would not hesitate to raise tuition for out-of-state students in the face of cuts.

Blank said the increases would likely be in the range of $3,000 per year for out-of-state tuition, but she would make sure scholarships and financial aid stayed in place as much as possible. Considering the out-of-state price of other public universities, she said UW has room for increase.

Nneka Akubeze, executive director of the United Council of UW Students, asked the panel why the price-tag of other schools mattered and said she thought the campus’ relatively low out-of-state tuition was an asset.

“I prefer to keep tuition low across the board,” Blank said. “I have to balance the budget some way next year. One of the tools we have is out-of-state tuition increases.”

Other students and alumni expressed concern regarding how the cuts would affect ongoing diversity efforts on campus. Berquam said the administration would do what it can to keep existing diversity programs in place and continue to work with students to keep up the existing diversity conversation.

Senior Class President Maria Giannopolous said she was concerned about tuition spikes after the tuition freeze ended this year. Hoset said in-state tuition would almost definitely be frozen at least until 2017.

“Walker has been clear he wants to see undergrad tuition extended,” Hoset said. “This will pass.”