Early in Wisconsin’s educational history following the Land Grant Act of 1862, the University of Wisconsin was established to meet the educational needs of the state.
Later, the charge to take a UW education to the boundaries of the state was expressed in the form of the 26 campuses of the University of Wisconsin System, of which UW-Fond du Lac is one.
In arguing against providing funding for state universities that even his fellow Republicans say is needed, Assembly Committee on Colleges and Universities Chair Steve Nass, R-Whitewater, offers a quote from Thomas Paine about “the greedy hand of government (in the form of taxation and the demand for revenues) thrusting itself into every corner and crevice of industry, and grasping the spoil of the multitude.”
If Nass’ suggestion that the essential founder of the American experiment might have objected to collecting the needed funds for education, the assemblyman might want to familiarize himself with Paine’s suggestion that “those who want to reap the benefits of this great nation must bear the fatigue of supporting it.”
For the state and nation, scores were down slightly compared with the prior year, the College Board announced, but the long-term trends and such things as the increasing number of minority students taking the SAT could be looked at more positively.
We all want to see Wisconsin thrive in the global economy, but success in an increasingly competitive world depends on the vitality of our universities and colleges. To win in the knowledge-based economy, we need a strong University of Wisconsin System.
In other states and other nations the rate of investment in higher education is accelerating rapidly. In contrast, Wisconsinâ??s support for higher education is slowing down. Compared to average states, per student funding at UW campuses lags by $1,200. That difference puts us at a major disadvantage.
MADISON, Wis.-Wisconsin taxpayers have paid more than $1.4 million since 2005 to state employees and their lawyers to drop harassment, discrimination and other claims against their supervisors, a review of legal settlements by The Associated Press shows. Noted: Several UW-Madison settlements.
MADISON – Several thousand college students around the state are still awaiting word on financial aid through the need-based Wisconsin Higher Education Grant program with only about a week to go before classes start in the University of Wisconsin System.
They are waiting for enactment of a new state budget, which is now in a legislative conference committee.
With California’s adoption of its state budget Tuesday, Wisconsin is now the last state in the nation that began its fiscal year on July 1 but has yet to approve a budget. There are plenty of reasons for the delay.
….But one of the biggest problems with Wisconsin’s budget process has nothing to do with partisan bickering or spineless politicians. The problem is that the budget is packed with noneconomic measures that have little or no place in a fiscal plan.
Dear Editor: As a resident of Wisconsin and student body president of UW-Eau Claire, I am frustrated and troubled by the biennial budget process this year.
We are one of the last states in the country to finalize a 2007-2009 biennial budget and we are nearly two months behind. Significant problems are occurring because of this complacency.
Currently, there are thousands of UW students unsure if they can attend school in September because the Wisconsin Higher Education Grant has not been determined. Also, the UW System Board of Regents had to set tuition with no indication of what the state’s allocation would be.
UW-Madison economist Andrew Reschovsky said he saw some problems with the program, such as the fact that many eligible taxpayers don ‘t participate.
With about a week to go before classes start at UW System schools, nearly 3,800 college students around the state are still waiting to hear what kind of financial aid they will — or will not — receive for the upcoming school year.
Yes, there are genuine disagreements among budget conferees, but we note that the legislators still have time to raise campaign funds while the budgeting occurs. Perhaps the time and energy could be better spent doing the peoples business.
(MADISON) Itâ??s been about a month since legislative leaders started meeting to discuss the state budget, and they still havenâ??t resolved a single difference. Their latest discussion highlighted one of the big hang-ups: they still canâ??t decide how much money they have to work with.
If the Legislature is going to find any compromise on the budget, Republicans will likely have to spend more than they want to and Democrats less. But from day one of the conference committee, GOP leaders have said the state should stick to the 56 billion dollars they set aside in the budget that passed the Assembly.
Dear Editor: Currently, there are 178 eligible UW-Whitewater students waiting to find out if they will receive financial aid for the coming school year through the Wisconsin Higher Education Grant (WHEG) program. WHEG is a state-funded grant available to eligible undergraduate Wisconsin residents who have demonstrated financial need.
These students are waiting for funding because of the delay in approving the state budget.
Wisconsin has now fallen behind all its peers in passing a budget, and the best lawmakers here could do Thursday was agree to nix a tax break on gold bullion.
With the budget now 54 days late, lawmakers in a special budget conference committee spent another day bickering over taxing and spending levels without reaching major agreements.
Why should we care? That was a rhetorical question asked by Scott Craven, professor of wildlife ecology at UW-Madison, in leading off the second CWD Stakeholder Advisory Committee meetings in Madison last Saturday.
The meeting, held at Lowell Inn and Conference Center on the UW-Madison campus, drew a surprisingly small public attendance, less than 10 people. However, the reason for the meeting was for the 16-member committee to hear from experts about what is known about chronic wasting disease.
….”I obviously care for both personal and professional reasons, but this issue is just not on people’s radar screen like it was three years ago,” he (Craven) said. “One of the most important challenges that you face, as liaisons to groups of citizens and hunters, is to bring that back.”
(Also mentioned are Chad Johnson, an assistant scientist in the School of Veterinary Medicine, and Joel Pedersen, associate professor of Soil Science.)
No American folk hero is more famous than the mighty lumberjack Paul Bunyan.
But 100 years ago, only a few grizzled loggers recognized his name. When the Red River Lumber Co. first used him in its advertising literature in 1914, the campaign fell flat on its face because almost no one outside the woods had ever heard of him.
That ‘s when a University of Wisconsin undergraduate named K. Bernice Stewart began to collect Bunyan tales directly from loggers.
Plenty of Republican lawmakers are sticking up for higher education in Wisconsin as the state budget battle intensifies.
Let ‘s hope the GOP leaders in the Legislature are listening.
Making one of the largest charitable commitments in Milwaukee history, real estate developer Joseph Zilber on Tuesday gave Marquette University a huge boost and set the stage for announcements in coming days of other large gifts.
Forget Paris. Today’s kids increasingly want to speak the languages of Beijing and Baghdad.
In Wisconsin and nationwide, the study of Chinese and Arabic remains dwarfed by long-taught counterparts like French, German and Spanish. But they are gaining a toehold.
While some dismiss the trend as short-lived, akin to the Sputnik-era rush to learn Russian, and some media reports suggest a post-September 11 wave of interest in Arabic has already waned, others foresee a long-term shift.
This might come as a shock to those of you who spent a few years and a few dollars earning your college degree at a University of Wisconsin campus, so have a seat and take a deeeeeeeeep breath.
Here goes: A ranking of the nation’s top party schools was published Monday, and NO WISCONSIN SCHOOL WAS ON THE LIST.
No, seriously. This really happened.
Somehow, Wisconsin escaped yet another national survey’s notoriety that would have only cemented the state’s reputation as a heavy-drinking, hard-partying mecca for college-age folks.
Madison, Wis. – At last, we’re getting to the bottom of what makes John Simpson and the California-based Foundation for Taxpayer and Consumer Rights tick – or, more accurately, ticked off.
Not only does Simpson think the historic Bayh-Dole Act has been a colossal waste of time and money, even though many experts believe it unchained the innovative potential of the nation’s research universities, but he doesn’t understand the basics about â??technology transferâ? on those same campuses.
Whether climate change has caused the extreme weather we’ve experienced in recent weeks — near-drought followed by heavy rain — is a subject of debate among scientists.
A study by the Union of Concerned Scientists and the Ecological Society of America in 2005 said Wisconsin’s climate was warming, that extreme heat would occur more often and long periods of flooding rains may increase. John Magnuson, UW-Madison professor emeritus, helped write that study and definitely believes that global warming is causing more extreme weather.
Quoted: Jonathan Martin, chair of the UW-Madison Department of Atmospheric Sciences
More proof has arrived that Wisconsin boasts some of the best schools in America. In half the states, at least half the students in the high school graduating class of 2007 took the ACT, one of the nation’s two major college-entrance exams. Among those states, Wisconsin tied Iowa for second place in average score. Only Minnesota bested them, and just by a sliver.
But Wisconsin’s high ranking does mask trouble spots, including worrisome results for non-white students. What’s more, not enough of such students take the exam.
….Effectively what is playing out here is an irresponsible game of chicken. The regents set a tuition rate that was too high, which was disappointing. Republicans in the Legislature countered with their own, somewhat lower, rate; but they provided no promise of new money to ensure that the UW System is adequately funded.
In the end, there is a distinct lack of adult behavior on display. It strikes us that some senior Republicans in the Legislature, such as state Sen. Mike Ellis, R-Neenah, need to start working with the more politically savvy regents, such as (Tom) Loftus, to develop a plan that holds down tuition rates while ensuring that the UW System has the money it needs to provide a first-class education to Wisconsinites who seek college degrees.
Dear Editor: The Badgers are incredibly popular in Madison and throughout the entire state. Hundreds of thousands of people, if not millions, regularly watch Badger games and keep up with their favorite local sports team.
Many of us loyal Badger fans are looking forward to the launch of the Big Ten Network on Aug. 30 and can’t wait to see the Badgers in action when they take on the Citadel on Sept. 15. I just hope that we’ll be able to watch this game on our television.
A tuition reciprocity deal between Minnesota and Wisconsin won approval Thursday from Wisconsin’s budget-writing committee, sealing the deal that had been worked out between the two states.
The Minnesota board that governs most of that state’s two- and four-year schools approved it last month.
The deal reached between the state’s two governors in June extends a long-standing agreement allowing students to get in-state rates if they attend college across the border.
Madison public school students’ average scores on the ACT college admissions exam outpace those of their counterparts statewide, even as Wisconsin performs well compared to other states.
The average composite score of Madison public high school students on the national test was 24.6 over the 2006-07 school year, the best showing the district has had since it began keeping ACT records 22 years ago. Nearly 70 percent of high school students in Madison took the test last year.
Wisconsin boosted its participation rate and average score on the ACT college admissions test for the high school graduating class of 2007 – tying Iowa for second place among states where at least half of the students take the test.
Wisconsin’s top teacher expresses pride in the record amount of students taking the ACT test.
Seventy-percent of our state’s 2007 high school grads took the ACT college admissions test during high school, compared to 68% in 2006.
“They represent the highest percentage of students to take the ACT ever in Wisconsin history.”
Wisconsin had more than 46,000 of its 2007 graduates take the ACT. And State Superintendent Elizabeth Burmaster boasts, their average composite score of 22.3 is higher than the seven-year trend of 22.2, and tied with Iowa for second place in the nation.
Dear Editor: Many veterans could be affected by the reduction of benefits in the state budget. The proposed changes reduce the amount of benefits that the governor signed into law on Memorial Day 2006.
For about $18,000, a Wisconsin teenager can study for a year at the University of Wisconsin-Madison, the flagship of the state’s university system and one of the most respected public universities in the country.
For $45,620, he can pay the annual cost of attending Harvard University, one of the most famous and prestigious universities in the world.
And for more than $90,000, he can spend a year at Ethan Allen School, the locked campus in Waukesha County where teenage boys go after committing crimes such as armed robbery, battery and first-degree sexual assault.
How can we build the Wisconsin economy?
Mark Bradley, president of the University of Wisconsin Board of Regents offers two suggestions: Increase the number of Wisconsin residents with bachelorâ??s degrees and allow UW campuses to develop plans that are suited to their particular region.
Bradley spoke at a Greater La Crosse Area Chamber of Commerce breakfast and also met with the Tribuneâ??s editorial board.
Longtime reader Chris Wren is alarmed, and the rest of us should be, too. Wren caught the op-ed column by Stanley Fish in the New York Times on Aug. 1 about the sad state of affairs in the Florida state university system.
“The following comment caught my attention,” Wren wrote.
“Florida does not have a single campus that measures up to the best schools in the systems of Virginia, Wisconsin and Georgia, never mind first-tier states like California, Michigan and North Carolina. Climbing that hill will be an arduous task, and the key will be a persistence few states are up to.”
So, there we have it, Wren commented. “A new motto in the making: ‘UW: Setting the standard of excellence for the second tier,'” he complained.
There are bold ideas from task forces studying security improvements on University of Wisconsin campuses in the wake of the Virginia Tech murders this spring, from polishing “crisis plans” to creating “review teams” to proactively probe reports of aberrant student behavior.
But there are a couple of things that could specifically help the University of Wisconsin-Oshkosh and the Oshkosh Police Department better prepare for and respond to a serious emergency here:
A review team to monitor troubling behavior is one of the recommendations that a University of Wisconsin commission made to improve campus safety.
The President’s Commission on University Security looked at campus safety in light of the shootings in April at Virginia Tech where 23-year-old Seung-Hui Cho killed 32 people on campus before committing suicide in a classroom building.
(EAU CLAIRE) Governorâ??s Task Force on Campus Safety held its second meeting at UW-Eau Claire yesterday (TH), where the focus was complex mental health issues on campuses.
The Task Force started its work after the shootings on the Virginia Tech campus. While shootings are rare, university officials say suicides, threats and serious mental health problems are not. Keynote presenter was Professor Gary Pavela, a nationally known expert on laws that affect students. He says often one part of a campus doesnâ??t know that another has already dealt with a problem student. He says a student may exhibit a pattern in the classroom, in the residence hall or the student union, or the campus police have had some interaction with the student, and often, no one ties it all together. He says thereâ??s nothing â??holisticâ? about the image of the student. (Fifth item.)
(MADISON) Legislative leaders have tossed aside a plan that would increase funding at the University of Wisconsin and cap tuition at four percent.
The proposal by Senate Democrats included most of the new funding that they want for the University of Wisconsin System. As a concession, it also included the tuition cap proposed and passed by Assembly Republicans. While GOP leaders called it a significant step forward, Democratic Senator Russ Decker made it clear the deal required some concessions from them, as well. He told them not to try to misrepresent this four percent tuition cap. He said itâ??s only going to function if the University gets enough cash to be able to make ends meet.
Another contentious day demonstrates the gulf between Senate and Assembly versions of the state budget. Negotiators at the Capitol batted around education proposals Thursday, but the eight member budget conference committee failed to come to any consensus on funding for the University of Wisconsin System.
The University of Wisconsin votes for a 5.5% tuition hike, but lawmakers are discussing a 4% cap. So, which is it?
It’s a 5 ½-percent increase. That’s what UW System spokesman David Giroux says. In lieu of a state budget, the UW Board of Regents earlier this week voted to jack up tuition for the upcoming academic year, starting in September. Giroux says a tuition cap sounds good for students, but not if it means driving down the quality of their education.
MADISON, Wis. â?? Even though both sides agreed that a 4 percent cap on tuition at the University of Wisconsin was a good idea, Democrats and Republicans couldnâ??t reach a compromise on how much money the system should get from the state over the next two years.
Not that the stalemate should come as a surprise.
Over more than two weeks and five meetings, all a bipartisan committee of lawmakers trying to pass a budget have been able to agree to are 571 noncontroversial items already cleared by both the Senate and Assembly.
State lawmakers are focusing on funding the University of Wisconsin as they try to reach a budget compromise.
Senate Democratic leaders offered Wednesday to go along with a 4% limit on University of Wisconsin System resident tuition – a cap first backed by Assembly Republicans.
A special Capitol committee working on a budget compromise took no action on the proposal Wednesday.
If you asked University of Wisconsin System officials if they have a love-hate relationship with the state Legislature, they’d be right to respond, “Uh, where’s the love?”
With Republican majorities in the last two Legislatures, the UW System became a favorite target for budget cuts â?? and cutting comments.
Not that all of the cuts were misguided. The state was in particularly dire financial circumstances and the UW had to take its share of the burden. But it got more than its share.
MADISON, Wis. â?? A day after University of Wisconsin System regents voted to raise tuition by 5.5 percent, Democratic lawmakers backed a Republican idea and proposed a 4 percent tuition increase cap.
The cap and the restoration of $127 million to the UW System budget were proposed at Wednesdayâ??s meeting of at a bipartisan committee of lawmakers working on a state budget compromise.
The committee was expected to debate the proposal Thursday.
UW Regents are studying new ideas for tuition and financial aid. Nothing in the pipeline will alter the tuition increase at all four year UW System campuses, which Board of Regents approved Tuesday. However UW System President Kevin Reilly said there is a study group looking at possible changes to tuition and financial aid.
UW students who will have to pay that five and a half per cent tuition hike are looking for a silver lining in the Board of Regents action.
The United Council of University of Wisconsin Students says it’s pleased a tuition freeze was put on the thirteen two-year campuses.
The UW Board of Regents voted Tuesday to increase tuition by 5.5 percent at the state’s four-year universities â?? the smallest boost in several years â?? despite great uncertainty over their budget.
The University of Wisconsin System’s Board of Regents voted Tuesday to raise resident undergraduate tuition 5.5%, gambling that Senate Democrats will prevail in upcoming budget negotiations with the Republican-controlled Assembly.
As August creeps towards its final days, university students across the state are already starting to turn their thoughts to returning to campuses, hitting the books and readying themselves for careers.
Some of those students will be minority students, as well they should be.
Just as the Wisconsin idea espouses the theme that the boundaries of the university are the boundaries of the state, we would like to think that the makeup of the student body on our campuses reflects the diversity of people within those boundaries if our colleges are to truly serve the interests of the state.
MADISON, Wis. â?? University of Wisconsin System regents voted Tuesday to increase tuition by 5.5 percent at the stateâ??s four-year universities, the smallest boost in several years despite great uncertainty over their budget.
The Board of Regents voted 14-3 to approve the increases totaling $330 for the coming school year for in-state students at UW-Madison, $323 at UW-Milwaukee and $251 at the 11 other four-year universities.
The UW tries a new strategy, to get the attention of state budget writers. The UW System’s Dave Giroux says they’ve sent a letter to every state legislator, explaining how UW students from every corner of the state would be impacted by cuts to the UW System budget.
The University of Wisconsin System Board of Regents today approved a 5.5 percent tuition increase this fall for the four-year universities in the system.
Wisconsin agriculture officials hope to find sweet success with a new grant aimed at the grape industry.
State agriculture officials were expected to announce a $22,500 grant today to researchers at the University of Wisconsin-Madison to develop a seedless table grape fit for Wisconsin’s cool climate.
UW-Madison junior Joe Xaypharath doesn’t want to think about how much debt he’s piling up as he works toward his pharmacy degree. He’s not even sure how much he owes right now, except that it’s a lot.
MADISON, Wis. — The University of Wisconsin System president said he wants to increase tuition at all four-year campuses by 5.5 percent.
The Board of Regents will consider Kevin Reilly’s recommendation next week.
Legislative negotiators are working on a state budget and haven’t taken any action yet on UW funding.
Undergraduate students attending the four-year universities in the UW System will likely face a 5.5 percent tuition increase this fall.
That is the increase system President Kevin Reilly will recommend to the Board of Regents when the board meets Tuesday at 10 a.m. in Van Hise Hall on the UW-Madison campus.
Reilly also is recommending that tuition be frozen at the two-year colleges, which often function as “feeder” schools for the larger institutions.
Bucky Badger is lending a paw to the push for greater competition in Wisconsin’s cable television market.
If the Big Ten Network can’t reach an agreement to run its programming on Charter Communications soon, a slew of fans in south-central Wisconsin won’t be able to tune in a bunch of Badger games.
That’s because many games will not appear on network TV for free. And some will not even appear on ESPN or ESPN2.
The UW Board of Regents is expected to consider a proposal next week that would hike undergraduate tuition at all four-year UW campuses by 5.5 percent. State Representative Steve Nass (R-Whitewater) says that’s too much of an increase.
Nass prefers a GOP plan to cap tuition at four percent over the next four years. He says it’s an opportunity to have the UW System live within its means.
Dear Editor:
Public radio’s signal is dear.
Static-free, it’s a pleasure to hear.
Fear-mongers hate it.
That’s why it’s abraded.
Reasoned discourse comes though loud and clear.
Undergraduate students attending the four-year universities in the UW System will likely face a 5.5 percent tuition increase this fall.
That is the increase system President Kevin Reilly will recommend to the Board of Regents when the board meets Tuesday at 2 p.m. in Van Hise Hall on the UW-Madison campus.
Reilly also is recommending that tuition be frozen at the two-year colleges, which often function as “feeder” schools for the larger institutions.
