Evers was unable to undo the $32 million cut to the University of Wisconsin, which was funding that Republicans said would have gone toward diversity, equity and inclusion — or DEI — programming and staff. The budget Evers signed does allow for the university to get the funding later if it can show it would go toward workforce development and not DEI.
Gov. Tony Evers vetoed a Republican attempt to eliminate 188 UW System jobs related to diversity, equity and inclusion Wednesday, cuts that were intended by GOP lawmakers to curb DEI efforts on campuses across the state.
He said he would give the UW System the ability to retain 188 employees working in diversity, equity and inclusion offices that Republicans sought to eliminate.
Tommy Thompson, a former governor and former president of the UW System, said the time is now to address the fiscal future of the statewide public university system and overlaps with technical colleges across Wisconsin.
UW-Madison senior Ciboney Reglos interacts with DEI programming “basically every single day” she’s on campus. She is the senior class diversity, equity and inclusion director and a board member for the Filipinx American Student Organization, one of at least 65 multicultural student groups competing for limited funding and campus programming space.
The U.S. Supreme Court on June 29 ruled race-conscious admissions programs at Harvard College and the University of North Carolina-Chapel Hill (UNC) unlawful in a decision that overruled decades of precedent protecting affirmative action programs at colleges and universities across the country.
Nicholas Hillman is the director of the Student Success Through Applied Research lab at UW-Madison. He said there were thousands of borrowers behind on payments when they were suspended in March 2020.
“So during this pause, we’ve had kind of an artificial view of the significance of student loan repayment,” Hillman said. “And now we’re going to turn the system back on here in a few months, and we’re going to have the same exact problems all over again.”
The Higher Educational Aids Board, which administers the program, did not respond to a request for comment. A similar grant program is available for students of color attending University of Wisconsin System schools.
In a significant blow to President Joe Biden’s agenda, the U.S. Supreme Court struck down his long-awaited student loan debt relief plan Friday, halting a key promise made during his campaign and leaving millions of Americans who expected thousands of dollars in financial relief stuck in uncertainty.
The University of Wisconsin at Madison, the flagship, said on its website that it is assessing whether the Supreme Court’s decision will affect scholarships and financial aid.
Minnesota’s move hasn’t sparked the same fears in other neighboring states. University of Wisconsin officials are expanding a free tuition program that started at its flagship Madison campus to 12 more schools this fall.
In a 6-3 decision, the court ruled Biden’s $400 billion loan forgiveness plan overstepped his authority as president. Hours after the ruling, the president announced he will try to enact a different student debt relief program under the 1965 Higher Education Act, calling the new path “legally sound.”
In a significant blow to President Joe Biden’s agenda, the U.S. Supreme Court struck down his long-awaited student loan debt relief plan Friday, halting a key promise made during his campaign and leaving millions of Americans who expected thousands of dollars in financial relief stuck in uncertainty.
On Thursday, the U.S. Supreme Court ended a Harvard and University of North Carolina policy of considering a student’s race when accepting applications. We talk with Anuj Desai, a UW-Madison Law professor, about what the ruling means for Wisconsin’s public and private universities.
Colleges and universities can no longer consider race when admitting prospective students following a 6-3 U.S. Supreme Court ruling that struck down the use of race-conscious admissions. In Wisconsin, the decision was applauded by conservative activists and left the University of Wisconsin System reviewing potential effects from the ruling.
The U.S. Supreme Court struck down the consideration of race in college admissions, a ruling that may complicate how Wisconsin’s most competitive universities recruit diverse student bodies.
Professor of Political Science Emeritus at UW-Madison Howard Schweber referred to Thursday’s decision as a ‘sweeping giant statement principle.’ But he says an exception is equally notable.
“The giant loophole comes quite close to the end of the opinion when Chief Justice Roberts says ‘of course, a college or university may still continue race as it applies to a particular student’s individual life story described in their application essay.’ So what really happened here is a shift from one way to think about it is a shift from race consciousness in admissions to race consciousness in application,” Dr. Schweber said.
Evers previously said he would not sign a state budget that includes tax cuts for wealthy residents or maintains a $32 million cut to defund diversity, equity and inclusion programs within the UW System.
Both measures were included in the budget passed Thursday, but Evers has since softened his position and signaled he could support the UW provision because Republicans on the budget-writing committee included a companion provision that allows UW officials to request for the funding to be restored if the committee approves their plans for it.
At the University of Wisconsin Madison, where the acceptance rate is about 60 percent, the admissions website states that the school’s holistic application process is designed to help identify “remarkable students” and “diversity in personal background and experience” and does not use “formulas or charts.”
Despite Evers’ recent call for the Legislature to make significant changes to the budget to ensure that he signs it into law, neither chamber this week made substantive changes to the document before passing it. He opposed the significant tax cut for the wealthiest Wisconsinites as well as the proposed cuts to the UW System’s diversity programs. Both remain in the proposal.
On Thursday, the U.S. Supreme Court ended a Harvard and University of North Carolina policy of considering a student’s race when accepting applications. We talk with a UW-Madison Law professor about what the ruling means for Wisconsin’s public and private universities.
Thursday’s ruling struck down the longstanding use of race in admissions practices, as the Supreme Court considered two cases brought by conservative legal action group Students for Fair Admissions against Harvard University and the University of North Carolina at Chapel Hill. The lawsuits argued the schools discriminated against applicants of Asian heritage, and UNC additionally discriminated against white applicants, as part of its admissions policy.
Under a Republican-led bill, Wisconsin high schoolers who graduate in the top 5% of their class would receive automatic admission to University of Wisconsin System schools, including UW-Madison.
It’s a seemingly simple decision, but UW-Madison political science professor Howard Schweber says the repercussions are a lot more complicated.
In Wisconsin, the decision will likely have the largest effect on the University of Wisconsin System’s most selective campus, UW-Madison. While the school has long struggled to attract students of color, it recently ushered in its most diverse freshman class in the institution’s history. About one-third of last fall’s freshmen, or 2,695 total, identified as students of color.
The Wisconsin Senate voted to pass a two-year budget plan Wednesday that drastically cuts the state’s income taxes, decreases funding for the University of Wisconsin System and excludes many priorities that were originally included in Gov. Tony Evers’ budget proposal including paid family and medical leave and state funding for the Child Care Counts program.
Wisconsin students ranked in the top five percent of their class would receive a guaranteed spot at University of Wisconsin-Madison and at other state universities and technical colleges under a GOP bill.
The Republican-controlled state Senate on Wednesday passed a nearly $99 billion two-year spending plan for the state that again cuts taxes by more than $3 billion, using a windfall of unexpected revenue Wisconsin has amassed navigating the coronavirus pandemic.
Republican lawmakers drafting a bill that would require Wisconsin’s most competitive university to accept every top-ranking high school graduate in the state initially wanted the bill to apply to every high school in the country, lawmakers’ aides told reporters on Wednesday.
Another contentious spending provision in the budget the Senate approved Wednesday is Republicans’ plan to cut the University of Wisconsin System’s budget by $32 million in an attempt to force the school officials to eliminate diversity, equity and inclusion offices and programming.
Republican lawmakers unveiled a proposal Wednesday that would guarantee admission to University of Wisconsin schools for in-state high school students who rank among the top 5% of their class.
As approved by the budget committee, the spending plan would cut income taxes by $3.5 billion, boost funding for all K-12 schools by $1 billion, increase wages for state workers, increase transit funding by 2%, boost pay for prosecutors and public defenders and cut $32 million in DEI programming funds from the University of Wisconsin System.
Taxes would be cut across all income levels, with the wealthiest benefiting the most, and the University of Wisconsin would get nearly half a billion dollars less than it asked for under a two-year spending plan up for approval Wednesday in the state Senate.
Republicans plan to make no substantive changes to the state budget, meaning that a cut in funding to the University of Wisconsin System that puts the entire spending plan in jeopardy of being vetoed will remain, legislative leaders said Tuesday.
Wisconsin high school graduates ranking in the top 5% of their class would be guaranteed admission to the University of Wisconsin-Madison under a Republican bill expected to be introduced Tuesday.
Republican lawmakers have earmarked more than $3 million to help Washington County jumpstart a merged community college pilot program. The county is trying to preserve access to college in West Bend amid steep enrollment declines at UW-Milwaukee’s Washington County campus.
Another contentious spending provision is Republicans’ plan to cut the University of Wisconsin System’s budget by $32 million in an attempt to force the school officials to eliminate diversity, equity and inclusion offices and programming.
The 2023-24 Wisconsin legislative session is underway, with debates brewing on issues ranging from public safety, abortion access, tax cuts and the state’s projected $7 billion budget surplus, funding for schools and more.
Republicans approved a plan Thursday to cut the University of Wisconsin System’s budget by $32 million in an attempt to force the school officials to eliminate diversity, equity and inclusion offices and programming.
UNIVERSITY OF WISCONSIN: The University of Wisconsin System’s budget would be cut by $32 million, leaving UW nearly half a billion dollars short of funding it requested. Republicans cut the amount they say would be spent on diversity, equity and inclusion efforts, over objections from UW leaders who say they may have to raise tuition and cut programs in response. The budget also does not include funding for UW’s top priority building project, $197 million to demolish and build a new College of Engineering building on the Madison campus. Republican leaders say there are ongoing discussions about funding that project.
Republicans on the Legislature’s budget committee passed their version of the state’s two-year spending plan Thursday night, one that would cut income taxes by $3.5 billion across all brackets, including for the state’s wealthiest residents.
Republican lawmakers who control the Legislature’s budget-writing committee on Thursday voted to cut funding to the University of Wisconsin System by $32 million and nearly 200 positions in an effort to eliminate diversity offices and programming on campuses.
Republican members of the Legislature’s budget-writing committee were poised Thursday to fulfill an earlier promise to slash funding for the University of Wisconsin System in an effort to curb diversity, equity and inclusion offices and programming on campuses across the state.
The University of Wisconsin System, which does not have local property tax authority under state law, received around $15,079 per full-time-equivalent student. That funding ranked Wisconsin eighth worst in the nation.
University of Wisconsin System President Jay Rothman defended campus diversity programming this week as Republican state lawmakers consider cutting university funding by around $32 million because of opposition to those efforts.
Campus closures, tuition hikes and the end of some educational programs are all possibilities if the Republican-controlled Joint Finance Committee goes through with proposed cuts over diversity, equity and inclusion offices on campus, UW System President Jay Rothman said Monday.
“The public funding for our four-year university system is currently ranked 42nd out of 50 states in the nation,” Rothman told the committee. “I’m going to say that again, 42nd out of 50 states in the nation. I’ve lived in this state my entire life. That is a very different complexion than what I grew up with in this state. That is disturbing to me.”
Wisconsin’s top state legislative Republican continued his attacks on diversity, equity and inclusion efforts at the state’s public universities, calling the programming “the single most important issue” and claiming he was embarrassed to be a University of Wisconsin System alumnus because of it.
Wisconsin technical colleges would lose their taxing authority and depend more heavily on state funding under an amended bill approved during a legislative committee Thursday.
Wisconsin Republicans had to delay a crucial vote to cut funding to the University of Wisconsin school system. The Wisconsin GOP couldn’t come to a final decision about how much to cut from the school’s budget. But that hasn’t dampened calls to punish UW for daring to promote diversity on campus.
“UW-Madison is aware of non-sanctioned Facebook groups, such as the one you flagged,” a spokesperson wrote in an email. “When these come to our attention, we first attempt to message the group moderator, and then file terms of service complaints to ensure that the groups are clearly marked as unaffiliated and do not use university logos or marks. In general, we suggest that students and parents follow official UW-Madison Facebook accounts for the most accurate and up to date information.”
A fierce battle over diversity, equity and inclusion in higher education is being waged in the Wisconsin State Assembly, where it has temporarily paralyzed the state budget vote.
Identifying which colleges are at risk of closure is a tricky task.
Cost, location and the look of a campus have always been important factors in the college search. But in the wake of several college closures across the Midwest and Plains this year — Cardinal Stritch in Wisconsin, Finlandia University in Michigan, Presentation College in South Dakota and Iowa Wesleyan University — some families are paying more attention to finances.
Wisconsin Gov. Tony Evers said Wednesday in a newspaper report that he won’t sign the state budget if Republican lawmakers follow through on their plan to cut funding for the state university system’s diversity officers, escalating a bitter fight over dollars for the state campuses.
Evers said Wednesday during a stop at a cheese plant outside of Monroe that such a cut would be “a ridiculous effort” on Vos’ part.
“To cut, at this point in time, the University of Wisconsin System when we have a $7 billion surplus is irrational,” he said. “I’m hopeful that will change before the budget is passed.”
Wisconsin Gov. Tony Evers said Wednesday in a newspaper report that he won’t sign the state budget if Republican lawmakers follow through on their plan to cut funding for the state university system’s diversity officers, escalating a bitter fight over dollars for the state campuses.
Democratic Gov. Tony Evers said Wednesday he would veto any state budget that includes a proposed $32 million, Republican-backed state funding cut aimed at eliminating University of Wisconsin System diversity, equity and inclusion efforts.
Wisconsin Republicans have delayed a vote on the state’s budget for the University of Wisconsin System, hours after a top GOP leader pledged the Legislature would cut the UW’s budget by tens of millions of dollars.
Lawmakers writing the next state budget spent eight hours behind closed doors Tuesday only to delay action on the University of Wisconsin System after the Legislature’s top Republican said UW campuses would see a $32 million cut in state funding − a move the Democratic governor characterized as a “war” on higher education.
