Category: Chancellor

A major tuition increase is one step closer to reality for University of Wisconsin-Madison students.

A Board of Regents committee on Thursday approved Chancellor Biddy Martin’s plan to increase tuition for in-state undergraduates by $250 per year for four years and $750 per year for students from other states.

A higher education researcher at UW-Madison is among a small group of voices urging the Board of Regents to delay approving the Madison Initiative for Undergraduates, which is up for consideration Friday and has received widespread support.

The Regents are meeting Thursday and Friday at UW-Milwaukee.

Noel Radomski, director of the Wisconsin Center for the Advancement of Postsecondary Education, argues the initiative has not been adequately vetted, and its possible unintended consequences not thoroughly considered.

The University of Wisconsinâ??s new Go Big Read common book program, which begins this fall, announced its first book selection Wednesday.

On a table in the office of University of Wisconsin Chancellor Biddy Martin is a little white Badgers-themed piggybank. Interim Provost Julie Underwood gave Martin the piggy bank Wednesday morning as a way to help UW survive the stateâ??s budget troubles.

The decision to speak out against the Madison Initiative for Undergraduates has taken its toll on UW-Madison assistant professor Sara Goldrick-Rab.

Goldrick-Rab, an expert in educational policy studies, was a key part of my story which ran earlier this week headlined “UW-Madison chancellor’s proposed tuition hike elicits little push-back.”

In her blog on Monday, Goldrick-Rab wrote an entry titled “I (Finally) Figured Out Why I Want Tenure.” It’s a must-read.

On a table in the office of University of Wisconsin Chancellor Biddy Martin is a little white Badgers-themed piggybank. Interim Provost Julie Underwood gave Martin the piggy bank Wednesday morning as a way to help UW survive the stateâ??s budget troubles.

Martin laughs after she says this, since she has a different thing in mind for raising money â?? a plan to increase tuition that will either succeed or die Thursday, when the Madison Initiative for Undergraduates is scheduled to go before the UW System Board of Regents.

Chancellor Biddy Martin will officially propose the Madison Initiative for Undergraduates to the UW System Board of Regents Thursday.

Martin will attend the meeting in Milwaukee and submit her proposal to the Business, Finance and Audit Committee, according to John Lucas, a spokesperson for UW-Madison.

â??The recent reports about the stateâ??s budget make the Madison Initiative for Undergraduates even more important,â? Martin said in an e-mail. â??We must begin immediately to increase need-based aid and build new partnerships between students and their families on the one hand and alumni and friends on the other.â?

State Rep. Steve Nass (R-Whitewater) is pushing for the University of Wisconsin System Board of Regents to delay approval of the Madison Initiative for Undergraduates, a plan that would add a tuition surcharge for students at UW-Madison to increase financial aid and improve undergraduate education.

The initiative is up for approval this week at the Board of Regents meeting in Milwaukee.

UW-Madison Chancellor Biddy Martin has spent more than a month talking about the plan on campus with students, faculty and staff and has gotten a largely positive reception for the initiative.

Copies of Michael Pollanâ??s book â??In Defense of Food: An Eaterâ??s Manifestoâ? will likely swarm the UW-Madison campus this fall.

The book was chosen for the universityâ??s first common reading program, Go Big Read. Chancellor Biddy Martin created the program to engage students, faculty, staff, alumni and community members in a shared reading experience.

A committee chose the book from nearly 400 nominated titles.

I support UW-Madison Chancellor Biddy Martin in her efforts to re-establish UW-Madison as an excellent school, which it isn’t now.

If 200 to 300 students are frozen out of courses they want and need, this doesn’t speak very highly for UW. I encourage the Regents to raise tuition.

At first glance, a key premise of Chancellor Biddy Martin’s undergraduate initiative seems absurd. In an effort to make the University of Wisconsin-Madison “affordable to all,” she is proposing a tuition increase.

Yet Martin’s Madison Initiative for Undergraduates — the first major proposal of her eight-month-old tenure — has met with little organized resistance from students, who, in the past, have howled at any attempt to raise the cost of a college education.

The University of Wisconsin-Madison’s plan to increase tuition would allow the school to hire 235 faculty and staff.

UW-Madison Chancellor Biddy Martin has proposed increasing in-state undergraduate tuition by $250 per year for the next four years, on top of hikes approved by the Board of Regents.

Undergrads from other states would see their tuition go up by $750 per year.

University of Wisconsin student leaders and campus administrators met informally Sunday night at Chancellor Biddy Martinâ??s house to reflect on the Madison Initiative for Undergraduates and to look forward to the vote on the proposal by the Board of Regents Thursday.

Martin said in the few days left before the initiative goes before the board, the university will be working on the most effective way to present the proposal. If the initiative is passed, work will begin immediately on implementing its different facets.

It’s never easy to justify a big jump in tuition.

But UW-Madison Chancellor Biddy Martin has made a compelling case for a significant increase over the next four years to keep Wisconsin’s flagship university strong.

The UW Board of Regents should support Martin’s plan, which student leaders endorsed last week.

Gov. Jim Doyle’s state budget proposal assumes a tuition hike of about 5.5 percent over each of the next two years at UW System schools. Martin’s proposal will almost double that annual increase at UW-Madison to around 9.5 percent.

Immediately after University of Wisconsin Chancellor Biddy Martin unveiled her Madison Initiative for Undergraduates, it was apparent the plan, though fundamentally sound, needed a bit of refining. There were many aspects of the proposal that needed to be clarified to students and many more that needed justification. After a month, though the initiative hasnâ??t been completely fleshed out, we believe the argument has been sufficiently well-made and that the initiative is a necessary step for UW to not only maintain but also to improve its standing in academia.

Although increasing tuition is always a touchy subject among students, Martin deserves credit for identifying the needs of the university and putting together a plan to address them. Even more so, she deserves credit for working to make this plan clear and acceptable to all parties involved. Although the list of administrators and alumni is impressive, Martinâ??s work to convince the general student body is what has been most important. After all, we are the ones who will foot the bill.

Chancellor Martinâ??s proposed Madison Initiative for Undergraduates will supposedly close the gap in funding created by the recession and will magically make college more affordable while increasing tuition. While this may seem like a reasonable solution to the universityâ??s money woes, it is merely a short-term patch for a problem that is continuously ignored.

The Associated Students of Madisonâ??s Student Council voted to endorse Chancellor Biddy Martinâ??s Madison Initiative for Undergraduates, which will raise student tuition and provide additional aid and services.

In a statement, Martin said she was deeply grateful for the councilâ??s endorsement.

â??As you know, I am deeply committed to ensuring the quality and affordability of a UW-Madison education and the long-term value of our degree,â? Martin said. â??To members of ASM, I thank you for the effort and commitment that you have demonstrated. I look forward to bringing this proposal to fruition.â?

The Associated Students of Madison voted to fully endorse the Wisconsin Initiative for Undergraduates Wednesday despite uncertainties about student support.

The initiative, drafted by Chancellor Biddy Martin, would raise tuition to increase financial aid and academic support. According to Martin, the initiative would help UW-Madison remain competitive with other Big Ten schools. It will go before the Board of Regents May 7-8.

â??I think weâ??re at a tipping point in terms of faculty hired and the quality of this institution relative to our peers,â? ASM representative Jeffrey Wright said. â??Something needs to be done and itâ??s certainly not going to happen, at least in short term, out of the Capitol.â?

The Wisconsin Alumni Association announced its endorsement of the Madison Initiative for Undergraduates Tuesday, adding one last vote of support before the finalized proposal goes before the Associated Students of Madison tonight.

â??We think itâ??s a very smart plan, an important investment in undergraduate education,â? WAA President and CEO Paula Bonner said. â??We just wanted to make sure, as an organization, the students and the regents knew the association supported it.â?

As a graduating senior, I have not paid as much attention to the Initiative for Undergraduates as I perhaps should have. However, Chancellor Martinâ??s last e-mail compelled me to look more closely at the plan that is being proposed, and I was somewhat surprised by the similarity to the Growth and Access Agenda proposed by UW-La Crosse in 2007.

Chancellor Martin, Iâ??ve read with great interest your Undergraduate Initiative. Enhanced student services are mentioned several times. I think that is code for better academic advising. As someone who spends a lot of time â?? and I mean a lot â?? talking to students, I am thrilled to hear that.

Since Chancellor Biddy Martin unveiled her supplemental tuition proposal weeks ago, it has been fervently discussed across campus. The Herald Editorial Board sounded off in favor (with conditions) immediately after the announcement and the enemy paper followed suit with an endorsement as well. On the other side of the issue has been the venerated Board of Roommates. Their editorials have run the gamut from â??huh?â? to â??fuck that.â?

With the Madison Initiative for Undergraduates proposal scheduled to be sent to University of Wisconsin System officials Thursday, Chancellor Biddy Martin sent an e-mail to students last week updating them on the direction the initiative is taking.

The e-mail outlined several updates to the proposal, which was originally announced March 24. The updates concern common questions asked by students and details on the parts of the proposal that have been deemed especially important or were added after its initial unveiling.

Have you seen your adviser lately? Who are these people anyway?

Each student on campus has an assigned adviser, typically depending on whom you saw at SOAR. Unfortunately, many students fail to fully appreciate and use this important resource. The value of advising cannot be underestimated.

The truth is, there arenâ??t enough advisers to go around. Wouldnâ??t it be nice to have easy access to good advisers across campus, regardless of your major? There have been lots of questions and discussion about Chancellor Biddy Martinâ??s Madison Initiative for Undergraduates.

Recently, Chancellor Carolyn â??Biddyâ? Martin proposed a tuition increase called the Madison Initiative for Undergraduates. While some of the goals of this initiative seem worthy and noble, many students have found problems with parts of this plan and have voiced valid oppositions and concerns through the Madison Initiative for Undergraduate websiteâ??s forums (www.madisoninitiative.wisc.edu) and through local student newspapers.

While it is admirable that Chancellor Biddy Martin tried to collect student feedback through the Madison Initiative for Undergraduates website, thus far no action has been taken to change the proposal to accommodate the concerns of current and future students and their parents. Therefore, if students do not take real action to oppose this proposal, it will soon be passed by the Board of Regents.

There seems very little sense in trying to get water from a dry well. Chancellor Biddy Martin, however, feels otherwise. The chancellor released a plan, the Madison Initiative for Undergraduates, that would increase in-state tuition $250 and out-of-state tuition $750 annually for four years. The proposal has noble enough goals; half the money will go to financial aid to needy students, while the other half will go into better undergraduate education.

Focusing on the disparity in tuition costs between UW-Madison and other Big Ten universities, Chancellor Martinâ??s Madison Initiative for Undergraduates proposes a yearly progressive hike in tuition. This proposed increase would support greater financial aid, expanded student service and improved faculty retention.

Although the intention of this proposal is on track in many ways, there are a few inherent flaws. For one, the choice of $80,000 as the cutoff that determines whether students will pay the cumulative increase seems to be one of convenience rather than logic. Second, although it seeks to provide aid for students who demonstrate financial need, raising tuition is generally not an ideal process to make the cost of a college education more affordable. Third, as a soon-to-be alumnus of the university, I would much rather see any monetary donation used to retain faculty and be a lure for newer faculty instead of providing financial aid.

Chancellor Biddy Martin recently released the details of a plan to enhance the quality of the undergraduate educational experience at the University of Wisconsin-Madison while preserving affordability for families with demonstrated financial need. The Madison Initiative for Undergraduates will be funded through an increase in tuition, a premium that will be offset with private grants for those who can least afford to pay the increase. The stakes have never been higher for our great university, and I wanted to share my thoughts on this initiative with current students who may feel confused or burdened by this.

About 40 student leaders and administrators met with Chancellor Biddy Martin Monday to clarify and introduce advancements to the Madison Initiative for Undergraduates.

In an effort to include the student voice to the greatest extent, the chancellor received an extension for when the final date the plan must be submitted to the University of Wisconsin System Board of Regents.

Although we all come from different backgrounds, are majoring in different subjects and have different goals and expectations for ourselves, every single UW-Madison student can agree with the following statement: Tuition hikes suck.

Unfortunately, these increases are inevitable, even in the midst of a recession. Chancellor Biddy Martinâ??s Undergraduate Initiative proposal is yet another justification for an additional tuition increase. However, is it a practical and justified burden to place on students? The short answer is yes, but despite the many issues Martinâ??s Undergraduate Initiative proposal addresses, it also unfortunately contains several flaws which need to be dealt with before the proposal itself actually takes effect.

You and I have been privileged to attend one of the top 25 teaching and research universities in the world. We are the beneficiaries of the people of the state of Wisconsin and of the ongoing support of our federal government. The people of Wisconsin recognize the role the university plays in educating the workforce of the state, in fostering the arts, in making breakthrough discoveries that improve our health and well-being and in broadening the opportunities for the citizens of Wisconsin.

In the midst of midterms and finals UW-Madison students often find it difficult to receive help from professors with crowded office hours, but with the Greater University Tutoring Service looking to expand its services, help may be more readily available to students.

Shuhan He, a senior at UW-Madison, said he has big plans to expand GUTS to include Skills Acquisition Guiding Experience. The program would provide peer-mentoring groups, beginning in the Zoology department. SAGE would eventually expand to all departments on campus that wish to collaborate with GUTS.

The deans of the UW-Madison School of Business and College of Engineering want their students to know they will benefit from a proposed tuition hike for all undergraduates.

Engineering Dean Paul Peercy and Business Dean Mike Knetter penned an editorial in todayâ??s edition of the student newspaper The Daily Cardinal in support of the Madison Initiative for Undergraduates, arguing it is necessary on top of the extra tuition engineering and business students already pay.

Although largely scrutinized, Biddy Martinâ??s proposed Madison Initiative for Undergraduates will do more good than harm for the student body. It is easy to get riled up by numbers, but after hearing all of the fuss, I was surprised to find much of the commotion is over petty change. With tuition numbers in the thousands, it is hard for me to comprehend the impact $2,500 at most is likely to have on me in the long-run.

But I do know something that is likely to have an impact. Lecture halls filled to the brink, the loss of renowned faculty to a student body unwilling to fork out the money and the end of distinguished reputation in a school known for above-average academia. I have heard enough horror stories about seniors who are unable to graduate on time due to competitive majors. It is about time the student body put their money where their mouth is. Stop complaining about the bitter-sweetness of Biddyâ??s cookies and realize how fortunate we are to have an initiative that is looking out for our needs as students.

Leave it to libertarians to reduce every single issue on earth, be it political, economical or social, to absolutism.

Leave it to them to turn an innocuous and practical initiative like Chancellor Biddy Martinâ??s Madison Initiative for Undergraduates into a new battlefront between those who value freedom and self-reliance and those pesky Marxists who just love leeching off the rich. One needs to look no further than the way those who oppose the Madison Initiative are going about framing the discussion as proof of these tendencies. Yet, is it true that this initiative is just another case of â??wealth redistributionâ??

UW-Madison Chancellor Carolyn â??Biddyâ? Martin has proposed a new initiative to provide additional investment in the undergraduate experience at UW-Madison through a premium tuition applied only on the Madison campus. We support this initiative for the following reasons:

â?¢ We believe there are important investments that need to be made in undergraduate education on our campus. We believe these investments will boost the quality of the experience and student outcomes (which accrue over a lifetime) by more than the increase in cost.

The Associated Students of Madison partially endorsed the Wisconsin Initiative for Undergraduates Wednesday and resolved to create a shared governance committee to oversee the allocation of the funds if the initiative passes.

â??We are hemorrhaging faculty. Itâ??s directly impacting the quality of education,â? ASM representative Jeffrey Wright said. â??Somethingâ??s got to give. Students on this campus who can be giving more should be giving more.â?

While ASM supports the initiativeâ??s vision, the group has lingering questions about how the initiative will operate if passed by the UW System Board of Regents in May.

The Associated Students of Madisonâ??s Student Council voted Wednesday to partially endorse Chancellor Biddy Martinâ??s budget initiative to raise student tuition Wednesday.

The council decided on only a partial endorsement for the Madison Initiative for Undergraduates in an effort to ensure all students, as well as council members, fully understand the proposal before taking a permanent stance.

After Biddy Martin gives her perspective on why the Madison Initiative for Undergraduates is necessary, UW students sound off on whether the proposal is right at this point in time. (Video.)

The University of Wisconsinâ??s Undergraduate Initiative seeks to add a tuition surcharge on students from higher-income families to improve the quality and value of undergraduate education and put greater emphasis on need-based financial aid. Chancellor Biddy Martin has encouraged comments and dialogue with students and the community. In fact, thereâ??s an entire website dedicated to the initiative and an online forum where students are encouraged to share their thoughts and vote on the issues that matter most to them.

Noted: The Faculty Senate also discussed Chancellor Biddy Martinâ??s Madison Initiative for Undergraduates, which proposes a supplemental tuition increase over the next four years to provide more need-based financial aid and increase academic resources available to students.

According to a university publication, UW awarded $5.7 million in need-based grants to undergraduates for the 2006-07 academic year, the lowest need-based financial aid of all Big Ten universities.

Martin said the practice of using tuition for financial aid is standard at other universities and thinks the initiative would help the university continue to provide high-quality education at an affordable price.

The state of Wisconsin has built a tremendous resource in the University of Wisconsin-Madison. Even when the economy slows â?? as it has in the past â?? our education and research continue moving us forward. Weâ??ve pushed the boundaries of discovery and given the state a value worth more than just dollars and cents.

But, weâ??ve faced financial shortfalls for several years. Budget restrictions limit what we can do and prevent us from keeping pace with the costs of higher education. We need to find new ways to provide a world-class education and compete on a national and international playing field.

Some UW-Madison engineering students say the proposed tuition increase for all undergraduates will hit them especially hard because they already pay a higher rate in the College of Engineering.

â??Itâ??s going to be a double whammy,â? said Adam Wright, a freshman from Green Bay who plans to major in nuclear engineering.

A legislative leader is backing a controversial tuition surcharge for UW-Madison students.

State Senate President Fred Risser says the University is hurting and needs the money. The Madison Democrat says Chancellor Biddy Martin’s plan to impose higher tuition costs on families making more than $80,000 a year seems to make sense. He says taxes are often based on the ability to pay, so a similar system may work for higher education.

Chancellor Biddy Martinâ??s new Madison Initiative for Undergraduates, unveiled last Tuesday to students, is designed to improve student services, access to core classes and increase the amount of need-based aid offered to University of Wisconsin students. Martin rightly assesses higher education funding by dividing it into four areas: federal, state and private dollars in addition to tuition money. As state support continues to slip, she is correct in turning to the two sources of money that are out of the hands of politicians and bureaucrats and rather largely in our control â?? tuition and private donations â?? in order to fund the initiative.

Opening up yet another university e-mail, I was initially disappointed to find a hidden message from Chancellor Biddy Martinâ??weâ??re jacking up your tuition. They call it â??The Madison Initiative for Undergraduatesâ? when the initiative is to charge us more.

For obvious reasons, Martin does not want to frame her plan as what it isâ??an intentional tuition increase for students. There would be considerably more attentionâ??and outrageâ??if this idea were sold to us sans the glittery, wonderful-sounding name.

Despite the unnecessary marketing maneuver, this tuition hike will benefit every Badger.

Tough recipes for tough times. Except in academia.

When Gov. Jim Doyle proposed a leaner budget for state operations, it included cuts of $63.4 million for the University of Wisconsin-Madison over the next two years.

That seemed in line with cuts to state agencies and the idea that in difficult economic times, there has to be some belt-tightening across the board.

But UW-Madison wants to take a few notches off that scrimping with a new plan called the â??Madison Initiative for Undergraduates.â?

When Chancellor Biddy Martin introduced her new Madison Initiative for Undergraduates, she did so in front of dozens of University of Wisconsin student leaders, including members of this editorial board. Instead of holding a press conference with solely university administrators, legislative leaders and other supporters, Martin opened the doors of her home to hold informal roundtable discussions on her innovative plan.

This signaled an important part of Martinâ??s plan â?? incorporating students, answering their questions, hearing their praise and receiving their critiques. She fielded initial support and resistance from students at the dinner and devoted herself to listening more.

None of us looks forward to tuition hikes, especially since all too often the benefits appear intangible or altogether nonexistent.

Tuition will rise this coming year, that much is a given regardless of which UW System university you attend. At UW-Madison, tuition will rise even with a supplemental charge under Chancellor Martinâ??s recently proposed Madison Initiative for Undergraduates.

The initiative, which would increase tuition by an additional $250 per year for in-state students and $750 per year for out-of-state students and would also be matched dollar for dollar by private fundraising, is pitched as a â??pledge to quality, value and affordability.â? Many probably react with the same instinctive question upon hearing the initiative: â??Just how does a tuition hike equate to affordability again?â?

A state lawmaker says the UW-Madison is trying to “soak” students with a proposed tuition surcharge.

State Representative Scott Suder says the plan to charge students an extra $250 a year, if their family makes more than $80,000 a year, amounts to a tax on students. He says it’s not fair to raise the expectations of what students have to pay, after they’ve already started attending the school.

The University of Wisconsin at Madison might be called a victim of its own successes. The stateâ??s flagship institution has recruited prominent faculty, but has been forced to enter bidding wars with wealthy private institutions just to retain them. On top of that challenge, budget cuts and cost increases have made it difficult for the university to fill positions vacated by retiring baby boomers, leaving faculty lines open and forcing the university to cut course offerings.

The challenges facing Wisconsin are systemic, and they have only been exacerbated by the economic downturn, according to Biddy Martin, who was named chancellor a little more than six months ago.
â??The traditional revenue sources havenâ??t been able to keep pace with the cost of higher education, certainly not at a major research university,â? Martin said.