UW-Madison committees overseeing the Madison Initiative for Undergraduates presented their recommendations to Chancellor Biddy Martin for a second round of appropriations Tuesday.
Many projects were aimed at addressing ""bottlenecks"" within academic departments that result in long waitlists for classes. Improving access to classes has been a goal of the MIU since its inception, according to Martin.
""We want students to learn with the best and to be taught by the best. We want our students to get through in four years,"" she said. ""At the same time, at the level of pedagogy, we want something transformative.""
One project in particular, a proposed multimillion-dollar E-Learning Center, stood above the others in terms of its ambition and scope. The center would be a collaboration among the libraries and engineering and language departments.
The initial proposal for the center said it would cost $6.7 million, but more funds might be needed in the future.
""The grander initiative behind it is really spectacular,"" Martin said of the proposal. ""This is really a game-changer.""
According to the grant request, the E-Learning Center would bring together students from across the world using teleconference technology in virtual classrooms and allow UW-Madison students to converse with native speakers. The E-Learning Center also promises to offer a high-tech approach to teaching math and science.
Some oversight committee members embraced the aims of the center but worried about the project's substantial construction costs.
""The question is, how we are going to define the Madison Initiative?"" said Tyler Junger, head of the student oversight committee. ""Should we use the Madison Initiative money to improve the classroom or to build the classroom?""
Much of the MIU funding will go toward new teaching faculty, and Martin stressed the need for oversight.
""We need to hold these MIU programs accountable,"" Martin said. ""If we don't, we are just hiring people for 40 years. We need consequences if these programs don't meet their stated objectives.""
Michel Wattiaux, a UW-Madison agricultural science professor, voiced his concern about evaluating the new faculty too harshly because of research burdens.
""With the metrics we have in place as a premier research institution, we have to make sure that the new faculty we do bring in are evaluated in a proper context,"" he said.
Junger said in the end, the Madison Initiative is about students.
""If after four years, students still can't get out in four years because they need to take an extra semester, then it will have not succeeded and we will have wasted our time and money,"" he said.
