Faculty and academic staff at every school in the University of Wisconsin System will receive a 2 percent pay increase starting in 2011, if the Board of Regents has its way.

The recommendation to the Legislature was made Friday but could face an uphill battle at the Capitol with Republicans taking control of both houses and the governor’s office. Gov.-elect Scott Walker and Republican leadership in the Legislature have made clear they want to avoid giving UW additional state funding.

The pay increase was recommended by UW System President Kevin Reilly earlier this week as a way to ensure UW’s salaries don’t fall far behind other large public universities.

Reilly said the pay increase will help the universities remain competitive and help improve the morale of faculty members, ensuring UW System universities have strong academic and research programs.

“We cannot maintain the university system we have today… without a strong, high performing workforce,” Reilly said.

The recommendation will now move on to the Office of State Employment Relations, which will make an overall recommendation to the Legislature.

UW spokesperson David Giroux said the state legislature has a tremendous challenge ahead of itself in attempting to balance the state budget, but it does understand the the importance of the role the UW System plays in the state.

Despite possible opposition from the Republicans, Giroux said many at the Capitol have been receptive to the request.

The board also received an overview of the results of a national survey of young alumni from Terry Hartle, senior vice president of government and public affairs for the American Council on Education.

Hartle said 11 out of the 13 UW System universities participated in the survey which assessed the responses of alumni that have been out of school from 5 to 15 years.

The survey found 98 percent of young UW System alumni had a favorable impression of their alma mater, while 81 percent said they would attend the same institution again and 92 percent said they were charged a fair price for their education.

He added percentages above 85 percent are considered to be unanimous according to most polls.

Hartle said in many of the areas the survey examined, the UW System universities consistently scored higher than the national average.

The results showed UW System alumni are exceptionally satisfied with their college experience, Hartle said.

“My message for the UW System is keep doing what you’re doing,” Harttle said.