The UW System Board of Regents submitted plans Monday for a possible 10 percent cut in state funding for the UW System at Gov. Jim Doyle's request.
In August, the Board of Regents voted unanimously for their 2005-'07 biennium budget request, but a 10 percent cut would injure what many are calling \the heart and soul"" of the UW System-its faculty and quality of education.
The UW System suffered more than $250 million in budget cuts from the previous 2003-'05 plan, something the education system cannot afford again, according to state Rep. Mark Pocan, D-Madison.
""The UW took a big hit in the last cycle, and students, too,"" he said. ""I don't think it would be fair for students to have to pay [higher tuition] again. I hope we can find the dollars in other areas.""
The previous budget cuts raised tuition substantially for students across Wisconsin and resulted in lower retention rates of students coming from low-income families.
Other areas affected by the cuts are class availability and faculty wages. More classes are being removed from school curriculums and courses are increasingly being offered only in the spring or fall, which has become an increasingly large problem for graduating UW-Platteville students.
Reminiscent of UW-Madison's teaching assistant strike last spring, faculty wages are declining as well and pale in comparison to other state education systems. The trend forces many faculty members to take jobs elsewhere, according to UW System spokesperson Linda Weimer.
""Other universities are poaching our quality professors and staff,"" she said. ""We need to replenish faculty lost in these past two years and keep the outstanding and renowned professors and TAs we have.""
If the 2005-'07 budget request is accepted by the governor and legislature without any cuts, the plan would restore $140 million of the cuts from the last biennium. The biennium budget would also focus on Student Access and Wisconsin Success. This will be beneficial to universities and the state because for every dollar given to the universities, nine dollars are given back to the statethrough various processes.
Student Access will keep tuition increases at 4.3 percent each year and will freeze tuition costs at their 2005 rate for students from families who make less than $46,000 annually. The quality of UW education will also see improvements in new faculty to combat the state's ""brain drain."" Wisconsin universities gained 8,700 students in the last decade, but lost 670 faculty members, resulting in growing class sizes and fewer teachers, according to the UW System's budget request fact sheet.
""The new budget would be fabulous for students,"" said Regent Beth Richlen, a UW-Madison second-year law student. ""It will keep tuition low, bring back our faculty and improve campus construction projects, like more libraries. I wish students were getting more involved in this because we can really make improvements with this budget.""
Other plans featured in budget spending are various construction projects around the state such as added classrooms, laboratories and student service buildings.
The result of Student Access is Wisconsin Success, according to the budget proposal. The UW system produces 30,000 graduates each year in fields of business, medicine and law, improving Wisconsin's economy. According to the budget, after five years the plan would add $87.5 million to Wisconsin's personal income base. Yet the plan must first make it across Doyle's desk and then through the legislature, which could prove difficult, according to State Sen. Fred Risser, D-Madison.
""I can't believe the current legislature will approve it,"" Risser said. ""The majority of the Regents were appointed by a Democratic governor so the Republican-controlled Joint Finance Committee and legislature are not likely to approve the plan.""
Governor Doyle and the Joint Finance Committee will review the Wisconsin 2005-'07 state budget before its proposal to the legislature in January. The state budget will be enforced July 1, 2005, the beginning of the fiscal year.
