Discussion centered largely on how the officials viewed the future of Wisconsin’s public higher education system in light of enrollment struggles but also touched on diversity, equity and inclusion programming and free speech on campus.
“I am doing everything in my wheelhouse to be able to afford to live,” said Olivia Steele, who graduated from the University of Wisconsin-Madison in 2016 with a bachelor’s degree and about $25,000 in debt. “I drive an old car; I don’t go on fancy trips or anything. Having payments come back will ruin me.”
The goal of the tour is to connect local businesses with the UW System.
The regents tapped Lynn Akey on Tuesday to serve as the seventh chancellor at Parkside, located in Kenosha. She replaces Debbie Ford, who left the school earlier this year to serve as chancellor at Indiana University Southeast.
The UW System released preliminary enrollment estimates and will release official findings later this week.
The department found Bahmani awarded the highest possible grade to most students she taught in an online degree program, even when they turned in partial work or no work at all. In addition, the department alleged while she served as director of the online program, she assigned herself to 11 courses in disciplines she wasn’t academically qualified to teach, abusing her power for financial gain.
“Why isn’t this being shouted from the rooftops?” asked Stanke, a 21-year-old nuclear engineering student at the University of Wisconsin-Madison. She is too Wisconsin-nice to shout, but in more than 20 states so far she has touted clean energy and nuclear medicine at schools, nursing homes, a state legislature and once on a water-skiing podcast.
Communities affected by University of Wisconsin System branch campus closures could see millions in state assistance to reshape how the county-owned facilities are used under a GOP-authored bill circulated this week.
The Republican speaker of the Wisconsin Assembly is blocking pay raises for University of Wisconsin employees unless the university cuts diversity, equity and inclusion spending by $32 million — a move that comes amid the Democratic governor’s calls for lawmakers to spend even more on higher education.
State Rep. Tony Kurtz, R-Wonewoc, and Sen. Howard Marklein, R-Spring Green, will soon introduce legislation establishing $2 million in grant funding from the Wisconsin Economic Development Corporation for Richland County to help local officials plan for the future of what locals have long called UW-Richland.
UW-Madison has tied for 12th in the latest edition of U.S. News & World Report’s ranking for public colleges for 2024, a ranking that’s simultaneously celebrated and downplayed by academia because it provides incomplete pictures of universities.
Wisconsin’s Republican-controlled Legislature ignored a special session that Democratic Gov. Tony Evers called for Wednesday in the hopes of passing a $1 billion package that would keep a pandemic-era child care program running, send more money to the University of Wisconsin and create a paid family leave program.
University of Wisconsin-Madison saw its highest overall U.S. News ranking in the past 15 years; it’s the fifth year in a row that the university has moved up the rankings. It’s jumped 14 places since ranking 49th in 2019.
It would also provide up to 12 weeks of paid family leave for Wisconsin workers starting in 2025 at a cost of $243 million, and would give UW an additional $66 million.
That money would give UW a boost after the Legislature cut its budget by $32 million. On top of that, Vos said last week that he won’t approve pay raises for UW employees that were included in the state budget unless the university cuts diversity, equity and inclusion programs.
The University of Wisconsin System has to eliminate diversity and equity positions or sacrifice 6% pay raises over the next two years that were initially authorized in the budget Gov. Tony Evers signed this summer, Assembly Speaker Robin Vos said.
Evers’ plan would funnel $66 million toward the UW System following a bruising budget season that included a $32 million cut. The $32 million is what Republicans identified as going toward diversity, equity and inclusion spending at universities over two years. A veto by Evers allowed campuses to absorb the cut while saving DEI positions.
The Republican speaker of the Wisconsin Assembly is blocking pay raises for University of Wisconsin employees unless the university cuts diversity, equity and inclusion spending by $32 million — a move that comes amid the Democratic governor’s calls for lawmakers to spend even more on higher education.
University of Wisconsin System employees may see no bump in their paychecks this year despite 4% raises already being funded in the state budget.
The Chronicle of Higher Education finds that people view a college education as essential for getting a good job, yet trust in higher education is eroding. We hear from a reporter who has embarked on a new series exploring higher education’s “public-perception puzzle.”
The number of students enrolled this fall at the University of Wisconsin System’s main campuses has stabilized from the previous year, reversing a decline in enrollment for the first time since 2014.
Many college dorms lack air-conditioning—and not just at smaller institutions like Wayne State. Public flagships including the University of Wisconsin at Madison and the University of Maryland both have a substantial number of rooms on campus without AC, as do elite private institutions such as Boston, Yale and Cornell Universities.
Assembly Speaker Robin Vos said Thursday afternoon the University of Wisconsin System “will never get another nickel out of the Legislature” unless they cut diversity, equity and inclusion (DEI) programming, a day after a UW-Madison official said the university will not cut DEI positions.
The positive numbers come at a time when UW continues to fight with the Republican-controlled Legislature over funding and GOP opposition to diversity, equity and inclusion programs. Legislative leaders have also yet to implement a pay raise for UW and state employees that was approved as part of the state budget.
Enrollment largely held steady at most of Wisconsin’s public universities this fall, bucking a downward trendline that has plagued institutions across the demographically challenged Midwest.
The System expects to have 540 more students this fall over last, a 0.3% increase over last year’s final enrollment of 160,782, according to data the System released Thursday. UW-Platteville, UW-Whitewater and UW-Stevens Point all anticipated gains of about 3.4% — a few hundred more students on their campuses this fall.
Harris will also visit North Carolina A&T, Morehouse College, the University of Wisconsin, Madison, the College of Southern Nevada and Northern Arizona University.
UW-Madison comes in at No. 12 with 132 patents in 2022.
Evers has said he was open to reconsidering cutting taxes if Republicans would look at funding some of his priorities. Evers called a special session for the Legislature next week to spend more than $1 billion for child care, the University of Wisconsin System, worker shortage programs and other areas.
Pay raises for Wisconsin state employees that were initially authorized in the budget Gov. Tony Evers signed in July are still awaiting legislative approval, meaning state workers haven’t received the 4% pay bump that was due to activate this summer.
UW-Platteville and UW-Parkside are the latest UW System schools to announce spending cuts and furloughs to combat deficits.
A Republican state lawmaker says legislators cannot know if the University of Wisconsin-Madison is following a U.S. Supreme Court ruling banning affirmative action in admissions because the school won’t publicly disclose how they choose students. His comments came during a public hearing for a GOP bill that would guarantee college admission for highly ranked students.
The University of Wisconsin System announced finalists Lynn Akey, Phyllis King and Felicia McGinty in a release Wednesday, a week after the Regents met to discuss candidates.
University of Wisconsin – Madison: #79
UW-Oshkosh will require a cohort of its Executive Master in Business Administration students to pay thousands in previously uncharged tuition by the end of the month, or risk financial penalties, including having their wages and retirement accounts garnished and liens placed on their homes.
Under a furlough plan released last Friday, employees with gross salaries of $33,000 to $79,999 will need to take between four and eight furlough days between Sept. 10 and June 2024, a salary reduction of between 2.1% and 4.2%.
This month, the university is kicking off an eight-session online course on Packers history. Although participants will not receive college credit, the class allows fans to learn about the origins of American football, how a professional team launched in northeast Wisconsin, how the rivalry with the Chicago Bears began and more.
6. University of Wisconsin
The FBI released two age-progressed photos of Leo Frederick Burt, who is a suspect in the Aug. 24, 1970, bombing that, at the time, was the largest act of domestic terrorism on U.S. soil. A 33-year-old researcher died in the blast and subsequent fire, and four more people were injured.
The FBI Milwaukee Field Office on Thursday released age-progressed photographs of Leo Frederick Burt, who is wanted for his alleged participation in the 1970 bombing of Sterling Hall at the University of Wisconsin-Madison.
Noted: Each of the University of Wisconsin campuses has detailed guidelines governing such situations, as do many corporations around the country, especially since the #MeToo movement brought to light the widespread abuses of power by those in leadership positions.
After 17 years, University of Wisconsin-La Crosse Chancellor Joe Gow has announced he will step down. During his tenure, the campus has bucked declining enrollment trends and is now one of just three state colleges not running a budget deficit.
Joe Gow, the longest-serving current chancellor in the University of Wisconsin System, announced plans Wednesday to step down as leader of UW-La Crosse at the end of the 2023-24 school year.
UW-Milwaukee’s Washington County campus shouldn’t merge with the nearby technical college in West Bend, but the university can make some changes to make the satellite campus viable, a university-based task force recommended last week.
After a lull following the pandemic, more Wisconsin high school students are starting to take Advanced Placement courses and exams again.
But data shows students of color and lower socioeconomic backgrounds continue to fall behind in enrolling in the courses and taking the exams, which give kids the chance to earn college credits in high school.
After being told that they had paid in full, recent graduates of the UW-Oshkosh executive master’s in business administration program received surprise bills nearing $8,000 after the university claims it undercharged them as a result of billing mistakes.
Without any increase in state funding, the System is projected to reach a $60.1 million structural deficit by the end of 2023-24, according to System President Jay Rothman.
Sticker shock set in earlier this summer for a group of seven University of Wisconsin-Oshkosh students who graduated this winter from an executive MBA program and received their diplomas this spring. Then they got a letter from the university’s billing office — in June — informing them of a “discrepancy.”
The University of Wisconsin-Milwaukee at Washington County should collaborate more closely with but not formally merge with a local technical college, a university work group recently proposed.
UW-Parkside and UW-Platteville are now among the eight other system campuses considering furloughs and layoffs to close budget gaps. The president of the University of Wisconsin System elaborates on the system’s fiscal situation.
The University of Wisconsin Madison will absorb the bulk of a state funding cut this year. And despite the first increase in tuition costs for Wisconsin undergraduates in more than a decade, most other campuses face budget deficits and will pull from reserves.
There’s been a flurry of headlines throughout the summer about the University of Wisconsin System’s finances. It culminated Tuesday with the UW Board of Regents unanimously approving a budget that has 10 of the 13 campuses projected to run deficits this school year.
Noted: In addition, Haley received the maximum donation of $6,600 from Continental Properties CEO James Schloemer and President Daniel Minahan. Former University of Wisconsin System Regent Scott Beightol also chipped in $3,300.
Only two of the System’s schools, UW-Madison and UW-Stout, are expected to operate without a structural deficit next year. UW-Stevens Point’s main campus anticipates being able to sustain itself, but its two branch campuses, in Marshfield and Wausau, are running $1 million short.
Two more University of Wisconsin System campuses are looking to furloughs, retirement incentives and layoffs to address combined budget deficits of around $15 million.
The latest announcements from UW-Parkside and UW-Platteville come just more than one month after Republican state lawmakers included a $32 million cut to the UW System in a state budget signed by Democratic Gov. Tony Evers.
UW-Platteville and UW-Parkside are projecting structural deficits of $9.7 million and $4 million, respectively, the universities’ chancellors told employees in an email Monday. A structural deficit is when ongoing expenses exceed recurring revenue.
The number of University of Wisconsin System campuses considering furloughs and layoffs to close budget gaps this school year continues to grow.
Announced Monday in emails to staff, the universities could join UW-Oshkosh in furloughing its employees starting this fall, as the University of Wisconsin System sits a collective $33.4 million in debt as of June.
But all hope isn’t lost. After all, it’s the University of Wisconsin − not Harvard, Princeton or Yale − that boasts more current Fortune 500 CEOs than any other school in America. The world’s top companies don’t care where their CEOs went to school, and you shouldn’t either
Research that makes pathogens more dangerous or likely to spread would be banned at Wisconsin colleges and universities under a bill proposed by Republican state legislators, who point to incidents and controversy involving bird flu studies at UW-Madison.
The UW System Regents Business Partnership Award recognizes collaborations between businesses and universities. It also honors the impact these relationships have on campuses, communities and the state.
