Conflicting visions for the future of higher education in Wisconsin clashed at the Capitol Wednesday.
Before a joint meeting of the Senate's Higher Education and Tourism Committee and the Assembly's Committee on Colleges and Universities, UW System President Kevin Reilly and Rep. Rob Kreibich, R-Eau Claire, outlined their respective proposals for restructuring the relationships between the 13 two-year colleges and the 13 four-year universities. Wednesday's meeting offered a chance for legislators to debate whether they should undertake the grueling task of overhauling the UW System in increasingly tight economic conditions.
\When you undertake these kinds of restructuring, there are lots of ways to do them wrong,"" Reilly said. ""If you do them wrong, they don't achieve the goals you set out to achieve.""
Reilly told legislators the state should consolidate the 13 two-year UW colleges with UW Extension-an outreach program that expands education opportunities to Wisconsin residents. Reilly also advocated letting the system continue to undergo administrative reshuffling in order to cut costs.
However, he warned the state must make a stronger financial commitment to higher education.
""It is important to realize we have achieved these efficiencies during a time of seriously declining state support while increasing access to Wisconsin students,"" Reilly said.
He also added the quality of education in the state has sunk.
""I think there is a relationship between funding and quality,"" he said.
Both Reilly and Kreibich said increasing the number of four-year degrees in the state is a priority. Reilly said Wisconsin is 35th out of 50 states in terms of number of residents with four-year degrees.
""If we don't get that up, in my judgment, the economy will slide,"" Reilly said.
""Wisconsin is a dinosaur when it comes to the number of higher education systems,"" Kreibich said of the university, college and technical- college systems.
Kreibich said he believes higher education would be improved and money saved by merging the two-year colleges with the four-year universities. Each college would still exist, but as a satellite of a university.
Joe Perry, dean of UW Fox Valley, said he supports Reilly's plans and worries Kreibich's plan would hurt students' abilities to transfer to any UW school. But Kreibich said that will not be an issue. In fact, he wants to bring more four-year degree programs to the colleges, so that students will not feel as though they must transfer to earn a degree.
