Category: Higher Education/System

In her first weeks of graduate school, Akanksha Sharma had a problem: an ever-growing shopping list. Textbooks for classes, essentials for her new apartment, lab and activity fees, notebooks, folders, pens, graph paper, and so on: If there was any money left, she’d even consider buying something to eat. A paycheck was on the way for Ms. Sharma’s work as a research assistant at the University of Arizona. She just needed a place to deposit it. Fortunately, Wells Fargo Bank had a branch on campus, and various university materials described the company as its “official banking vendor.” It was an easy choice.

About 20 protesters dressed in Halloween costumes stood in front of the Yellowjacket Union on the University of Wisconsin-Superior campus Saturday to address recent program suspensions.

University of Wisconsin-Superior students are planning a peaceful protest outside the Chancellor’s Ball today to oppose the university’s recent suspension of more than two dozen academic programs in October.

College leaders are bracing for major changes to the nation’s tax code that could weaken their financial footing by undermining charitable giving and placing new tax burdens on institutions with valuable endowments.

State Republicans are celebrating the momentum of their legislative agenda marked by the Senate’s passage of a new tax bill Friday night, while Democrats warn of potential costs to students and universities.

The proposed update to the Higher Education Act introduced in the House Friday would allow colleges to refrain from investigating sexual assault allegations while a criminal inquiry is under way if police or prosecutors request such a delay.

Stability and security are what UW-Barron County faculty hope to get as the two-year college in Rice Lake comes under the leadership of UW-Eau Claire.

Note: The bill instructs the University of Wisconsin System and Wisconsin Technical College System to give tuition remission to former foster youth who meets certain requirements, and directs DCF to provide grants to UW institutions and technical colleges to provide resources and programs for former foster youth.

If the controversial GOP tax bill passes Congress, UW-Madison could lose significant money used for scholarships for low-income students.

Panelists disagree on whether new resolution may stifle certain voices on campus, promote hateful speech.

As Republican leaders in the Senate lobbied to secure the votes needed for a drastic overhaul of the U.S. tax system, higher education leaders and student groups have continued to keep the spotlight on provisions in both houses of Congress that would significantly affect — and, they believe, badly hurt — institutions and college-goers alike.

PHILADELPHIA — Olivia Harding holds academic accomplishments that her 10 siblings can look up to. Pursuing a doctorate in cell and molecular biology at an Ivy League institution, after all, is no casual feat.

The Republican-controlled U.S. House of Representatives this week will propose sweeping legislation that aims to change where Americans go to college, how they pay for it, what they study and how their success—or failure—affects the institutions they attend.

NORTH CENTRAL WISCONSIN – At the beginning of the month, regents approved a merger of four-year University of Wisconsin schools with two year schools. That means two-year schools will become branch campuses of those four year schools.

Despite a strong high school graduation rate and affordable public higher education compared to neighboring states, Wisconsin’s workforce lacks highly skilled workers.

Talk among graduate students at the University of Wisconsin-Madison has been buzzing with speculation about a proposed federal tax bill that could hike their income taxes so high some wonder whether they could complete their degrees.

The U.S. Department of Justice has opened an investigation into the use of race in Harvard University’s admissions practices and has accused the university of failing to cooperate with the probe, according to documents reviewed by The Wall Street Journal. (Subscription required.)

The line to enter a pastel pink Google “Donut Shop” on UW-Madison’s Engineering Mall one cloudy morning earlier this month snaked around the grassy quad, filled with students and others who wanted to experience the pop-up promotion for the tech giant’s smart speaker.

Republicans in the House of Representatives have just passed a tax bill that would devastate graduate research in the United States. Hidden in the Tax Cuts and Jobs Act is a repeal of Section 117(d)(5) of the current tax code, a provision that is vital to all students who pursue master’s degrees or doctorates and are not independently wealthy.

new bill, introduced in the U.S. House of Representatives on Wednesday, aims to “motivate students” to graduate by taking aim at Pell Grants.

Stephanie Marquis, UW System spokesperson, referenced a state statute which she says “clearly states that regents are to serve the UW System and its students.”

STEVENS POINT – Administrators at University of Wisconsin-Stevens Point have overruled the student government’s decision to deny recognition and funding to a conservative student group.

A resolution in support of free speech written by UW-Madison academic staff members was sent back to the drawing board after some students argued that its wording wasn’t strong enough.

Lawrence University, a private college in Appleton, has joined 49 other schools in signing an amicus curiae, or “friend of the court,” brief supporting a legal challenge to the proposed end of the Deferred Action for Childhood Arrivals, DACA, program.

Ohio State University suspended most of its fraternities Thursday amid investigations of hazing and alcohol violations at many chapters, the latest school to crack down on Greek life on campus.

Last week, the University of Wisconsin-Stevens Point’s Student Government Association rejected Turning Point USA’s request to become an official student organization on campus.

A UW-La Crosse student whose social media activity has attracted state and national attention is no longer an officer with the College Democrats of Wisconsin.

The Board of Regents’ decision to merge two-year and four-year colleges in a sweeping re-organization has sparked controversy from those worried about its effect on the UW System, but a provision involving UW Extension has been mostly overlooked.

BARABOO (WKOW) — Anxious students and staffers at UW-Baraboo/Sauk County raised a number of questions and concerns in a meeting with UW-Platteville Chancellor Dennis Shields Tuesday, just five days after the UW Board of Regents approved a merger between the schools.

It has been less than a week since the UW Board of Regents voted to merge two-year campuses with four-year universities. Now University of Wisconsin-Platteville’s chancellor is contacting the campuses that will now join the university.

UW system schools are trying to figure out what the new merger means for them. UW-Baraboo/Sauk County and UW-Richland will merge with UW-Platteville next year.

Controversy arose within UW-Madison’s student government this spring, as a national conservative organization provided campaign materials to candidates vying for spots on the student finance committee. Now, conversations about the group have sparked at another UW System institution—UW-Stevens Point.

The merger of the University of Wisconsin two-year schools with the four-year campuses was approved Thursday by the UW-System regents.

After years of growth, enrollments of international students at American universities started to flatten in fall 2016, and a downward trend in new enrollments appears to be accelerating this academic year, with nearly half of universities surveyed (45 percent) reporting a drop in new international students this fall.

Cross’ plan includes merging the two-year schools with the four-year campuses. The 13 two-year campuses will become regional branches of the seven four-year campuses.

UW-Marinette, along with UW-Manitowoc and UW-Sheboygan, will join UW-Green Bay as of July 1, 2018.

After months of back and forth between campuses, system leaders, and legislators, the regents approved Thursday new rules for allocating student dollars. Now, as mandated by the Joint Finance Committee UW System schools will have uniform categories for fees.

For instance, two years ago, there were two full-time IT workers working here on the hundreds of computers at UW Marinette’s campus. And now, they have none. Instead, UW Madison’s IT workers come at odd hours in order to fix technology issues.

Faculty hope the merger means better support and the opportunity to teach juniors and seniors—that’s the best case scenario, they said.

That process will start Wednesday when Schmidt, accompanied by staff members as well as representatives from the University Senate, University Staff Council and Student Senate, visit the UW-Barron County campus in Rice Lake to meet with their counterparts there.

“There are many unanswered questions about how this new partnership will work, and we’ll be working collaboratively to answer those questions and find a path forward together,” Schmidt said. “Listening and working together through this is very important, and we’re ensuring that all are represented in the conversation.”