UW-Madison Provost Patrick Farrell praised the university's recent research success Friday, but said it must raise student tuition to assure competition with the nation's leading private institutions.
We are an extraordinary, successful public university,"" Farrell said at Friday's UW System Board of Regents meeting. ""But there is no guarantee that that success will continue.""
Farrell said the nature of higher education research is a very competitive environment reliant on funding. When pressed against private research institutions like Harvard and Stanford with hefty endowments, funding at public universities like UW-Madison often lags behind.
""We do not have all the resources to do what is expected and to do what we think we need to do to be number one,"" he said.
Without comparable funding, resources become limited, and, according to Farrell, puts UW-Madison at a ""deliberate handicap.""
Farrell said, however, the university has the ability to identify the handicaps and fix them.
He said low tuition, the second lowest in the Big Ten, is one source of disadvantage. UW-Madison's tuition of $7,188 per student is currently $2,400 below the conference mean.
""This is an area where we think you all could help,"" Farrell told the Regents, calling on them to raise tuition, but not detailing any specific plans.
Still, Farrell's informal proposal was not without dissent.
""I just don't think we can win the battle,"" Regent David Walsh said, referring to state funding. ""We're not going to take on Harvard and Stanford."" Instead, Walsh called on more creative ways to monetize.
Farrell responded by proposing more research partnerships with corporations and a greater stress on alumni donations, an advantage many private institutions hold.
He also said with a tuition increase, low-income students would not suffer. ""We need to be confident to say we won't disadvantage any student,"" Farrell said referencing a financial aid campaign to be released this spring.
Future success and competition in the research world will not solely hinge on increased tuition, some Regents brought up at the meeting.
Regent Charles Pruitt said because graduate students conduct a large portion of university's nationally acclaimed research, the university must also focus on their recruitment.
""They build on the reputation of the institutions and help to recruit the next round of outstanding students,"" Pruitt said.
Farrell proposed bulking up graduate student benefits packaging to win young researchers over competing schools. ""The best will not come if they are not supported.
