The Republican-controlled Legislature’s budget committee has rejected Gov. Scott Walker’s call to cut University of Wisconsin tuition by 5 percent.
Lawmakers reject UW tuition cut, freeze to continue
WISC-TV 3
Category: State news
Committee members vote to continue tuition freeze, slash UW budget
Daily Cardinal
Tuition at UW System schools will remain frozen for the next two years under a proposal approved by the state’s Joint Finance Committee setting the budget for the state’s public universities.
Budget panel rejects Walker tuition cut, maintains freeze
Madison.com
The Legislature’s budget-writing committee rejected Gov. Scott Walker’s proposed University of Wisconsin System tuition cut Thursday, choosing instead to keep rates frozen for another two years.
Wisconsin lawmakers to freeze, not cut, UW System tuition
Milwaukee Journal Sentinel
The Legislature’s budget committee on Thursday approved freezing resident tuition at University of Wisconsin schools for two more years, discarding Gov. Scott Walker’s plans to cut it.
Budget committee drops University of Wisconsin tuition cut, keeps freeze in place
Wisconsin State Journal
Students in the University of Wisconsin System will not get the tuition cut Gov. Scott Walker proposed but will have flat tuition bills for the next two years under changes the state’s budget committee approved Thursday.
Budget committee rejects University of Wisconsin tuition cut, extends freeze
Capital Times
The Legislature’s budget-writing committee on Thursday rejected Gov. Scott Walker’s proposal to cut tuition at University of Wisconsin schools, opting instead to extend a tuition freeze for the next two years.
State Journal editorial: Tommy Thompson center at UW-Madison is a fine idea
Wisconsin State Journal
A UW-Madison research center named after Wisconsin’s longest-serving governor will be well worth its $3 million price tag if it improves the university’s frayed relationship with the Legislature.
Budget panel rejects Walker tuition cut, maintains freeze
Beloit Daily News
MADISON, Wis. (AP) — The Legislature’s budget-writing committee rejected Gov. Scott Walker’s proposed University of Wisconsin System tuition cut Thursday, choosing instead to keep rates frozen for another two years.
Scott Walker: Splitting budget could delay road projects
Wisconsin State Journal
The comments come as Walker’s budget clashes with his GOP legislative colleagues are heating up. Another point of contention for the state’s next two-year budget is whether to cut tuition at UW System schools, as Walker proposes.
Wisconsin Democrats will press budget panel to fund two years of free college education
Capital Times
Rep. Katrina Shankland, D-Stevens Point, said she and other Democrats will be advocating for some $500 million in additional investment and two years of free college education when the Joint Finance Committee takes up funding for the University of Wisconsin Thursday.
UW’s La Follette School director: Tommy Thompson Center a great idea
Capital Times
A new public policy center at University of Wisconsin-Madison named for former Wisconsin Gov. Tommy Thompson is a great idea, said Donald Moynihan, director of the La Follette School of Public Affairs on campus.
How Performance-Based Funding Could Impact Wisconsin’s Public Universities
WUWM
Wisconsin lawmakers are deciding whether to reward UW System schools based on how they perform. And experts say the idea has its share of pros and cons.
GOP expects to vote on UW budget Thursday
WISC-TV 3
Republicans who control the Legislature’s powerful finance committee are now saying they expect to vote on the University of Wisconsin System budget later this week.
How Performance-Based Funding Could Impact Wisconsin’s Public Universities
WUWM
In other words, funding models that encourage all universities to hit the same performance targets won’t be as successful. Rather, Snyder says, goals should be tailored to each individual school, because for instance, UW-Madison offers something different than UW-Milwaukee, than UW-Oshkosh.
The legislature’s Joint Finance Committee didn’t vote on the performance-based funding proposal as expected Tuesday, but it’s something they’ll need to address moving forward.
UW-Madison leadership center to honor Gov. Tommy Thompson
Milwaukee Journal Sentinel
A leadership center at the University of Wisconsin-Madison will carry the name of former Gov. Tommy Thompson, honoring the longest-serving head of the state on the 30th anniversary of his taking office.
UW-Madison researchers find modest drop in Wisconsin poverty rates
Milwaukee Journal Sentinel
Boosted by a growth in jobs, poverty in Wisconsin dropped from 10.8% in 2014 to 9.7% in 2015 according to the Wisconsin Poverty Measure.
The Latest: GOP expects to vote on UW budget Thursday
Madison.com
Republicans who control the Legislature’s powerful finance committee are now saying they expect to vote on the University of Wisconsin System budget later this week.
Cause and (good) effect: Jobs up, poverty down in Wisconsin, UW researchers say
Wisconsin State Journal
The annual Wisconsin Poverty Measure study from the Institute for Research on Poverty at UW-Madison showed a jobs increase of 70,000 between January 2014 and November 2015 led to a “modest but statistically significant reduction in poverty.”
UW-Madison leadership center will be named for former Gov. Tommy Thompson
Capital Times
A new leadership center at the University of Wisconsin-Madison will be named for Republican former Gov. Tommy Thompson, the longest serving governor in the state of Wisconsin.
New policy center at University of Wisconsin raises alarms
Madison.com
Gov. Scott Walker and fellow Wisconsin Republicans on Tuesday announced the formation of a new public policy center at the state’s flagship university, which liberals said would be nothing more than a taxpayer-funded conservative think tank.
GOP leaders propose policy center named for Tommy Thompson at UW-Madison
Wisconsin State Journal
A proposed new research center at UW-Madison named for former Gov. Tommy Thompson would connect academic experts with lawmakers to improve public policy and inspire the next generation of political leaders, according to Republican and university leaders who announced the initiative Tuesday.
Republicans divided on University of Wisconsin tuition cut
Wisconsin State Journal
Assembly and Senate Republicans are clashing over whether to cut University of Wisconsin System tuition in the next biennial budget, though they said Tuesday there won’t be a tuition increase.
Budget committee delays vote on University of Wisconsin System as GOP tensions simmer
Capital Times
The Republican-led Joint Finance Committee will delay a scheduled vote on the University of Wisconsin System’s budget amid a disagreement over Gov. Scott Walker’s proposal to cut tuition by 5 percent.
Wisconsin Democrats, Republicans differ on how best to alleviate student loan debt
Capital Times
Democrats on the Wisconsin Legislature’s budget committee on Tuesday reintroduced an oft-rejected proposal that would allow student loans to be refinanced at lower interest rates. It was met with resistance once again by the committee’s Republican majority.
Budget panel delays votes on UW tuition cut, funding
AP
MADISON, Wis. (AP) — The Legislature’s powerful finance committee postponed votes Tuesday on the University of Wisconsin System’s budget until later this week as Republican lawmakers quarreled behind closed doors over whether to adopt Gov. Scott Walker’s plan to reduce tuition.
Wisconsin Republicans’ Plan to Counter Liberals on Campus
Inside Higher Education
Wisconsin’s Republican leaders intend to create a new leadership center at the University of Wisconsin-Madison, announcing Tuesday they will seek $1.5 million in annual public funding for what they said will be a bipartisan center offsetting liberal thinking on campus.
Committee to act on UW budget later this week
Associated Press
Republicans who control the Legislature’s powerful finance committee are now saying they expect to vote on the University of Wisconsin System budget later this week.
Republicans Announce New Policy Center At UW-Madison
Wisconsin Public Radio
Assembly Speaker Robin Vos and other top Republicans have announced a new leadership center at the University of Wisconsin-Madison that Vos said will “offset some of the liberal thinking” on campus.
GOP Lawmakers Delay Vote On UW Budget
Wisconsin Public Radio
Republicans who run state government revealed a new fissure over the state budget Tuesday, this one involving Gov. Scott Walker’s plan to cut tuition for in-state students at University of Wisconsin System campuses.
Lawmakers to consider UW tuition cut, W-2 drug testing today
Milwaukee Journal Sentinel
The Legislature’s budget committee is to decide Tuesday whether to go along with Gov. Scott Walker’s plan to cut college tuition – an idea key lawmakers have been reluctant to embrace.
Walker issues budget veto threat among talk of tax hikes
Madison.com
Gov. Scott Walker, in another sign of escalating tension with fellow Republicans who control the Legislature, vowed Monday to take the unprecedented step of vetoing the entire $76 billion state budget if it raises property taxes on homeowners.
Budget panel to consider UW tuition cut, performance funding
Madison.com
University of Wisconsin System students would save hundreds of dollars on tuition and campuses would have to compete for additional state dollars under provisions in Gov. Scott Walker’s budget up for votes Tuesday in the Legislature’s powerful finance committee.
Budget Panel to Consider UW Tuition Cut, Performance Funding
U.S. News and World Report
The Joint Finance Committee is in the midst of rewriting Walker’s budget before sending it on to the full Senate and Assembly for votes. The committee’s work is key because the panel essentially finalizes the spending plan. Rarely does the Senate or Assembly make further changes to the document before sending it back to the governor, who signs it into law. Walker can use his partial-veto power to make changes to whatever lands on his desk.
Lawmakers To Vote On Walker’s UW System Budget
Wisconsin Public Radio
The Legislature’s finance committee is scheduled to vote Tuesday on pieces of Gov. Scott Walker’s budget for the University of Wisconsin System, including his plan to cut tuition across all UW campuses.
Budget panel to consider UW tuition cut, performance funding
Beloit Daily News
MADISON, Wis. (AP) — University of Wisconsin System students would save hundreds of dollars on tuition and campuses would have to compete for additional state dollars under provisions in Gov. Scott Walker’s budget up for votes Tuesday in the Legislature’s powerful finance committee.
29 Most Powerful Latinos in Wisconsin
WISC-TV 3
Leslie Orrantia is the director of community relations at the University of Wisconsin, a post she’s held since August 2016.
Franzen: Wisconsin Legislature should back off from trying to regulate free speech on campus
Milwaukee Journal Sentinel
Noted: Donald Downs, professor emeritus in the Department of Political Science at UW-Madison, agreed that while the end goal is good, the bill clearly goes too far, and would not be held up by the courts as currently written. He also said, however, that if universities across the country “don’t get our own house in order, we’re opening the door to this.”
Putting Wisconsin in the driver’s seat on driverless cars
Wisconsin Radio Network
Wisconsin is looking to move into the fast lane on driverless vehicles.
Sen. Steve Nass upset possible bailout of UW-Oshkosh Foundation could cost taxpayers
Milwaukee Journal Sentinel
Budget committee keeps labor commission, dumps tech college tuition freeze
Wisconsin State Journal
The Legislature’s Republican-controlled budget committee ditched Gov. Scott Walker’s proposals to cut a century-old labor review commission and freeze technical college tuition.
UW System considering settlement with creditors of troubled UW-Oshkosh Foundation
Wisconsin State Journal
State officials are considering a settlement with the creditors of the troubled UW-Oshkosh Foundation, in what one lawmaker described as a “bailout” that could use millions of taxpayer dollars to cover the private nonprofit’s debts.
Scott Walker seeks ‘steering committee’ to study driverless cars
Wisconsin State Journal
The committee will be headed by a Department of Transportation official and include representatives from the Department of Transportation, the Wisconsin Economic Development Corporation, the state insurance commission, the Wisconsin State Patrol, the UW-Madison, the Wisconsin Technology Council, the governor’s office, local law enforcement, a motorcycle advocacy organization, the trucking industry and three or more members from the “automated and connected vehicle technology sector,” as well as six appointees chosen by legislative leadership from both parties, according to the executive order.
Wisconsin budget committee rejects proposed technical school tuition freeze
Capital Times
Wisconsin Gov. Scott Walker’s proposed tuition freeze for technical college students was rejected on Thursday by the Legislature’s Republican-led budget committee.
The committee instead opted to set aside $5 million over the course of the two-year budget for the need-based Wisconsin Grants financial aid program.
The move frees up $2.5 million per year to be spent elsewhere in the budget.
UW-Parkside seeks funding support
Kenosha News
“The metrics that might work for UW-Madison or UW-Eau Claire or UW-La Crosse are not the metrics that are going to work at UW-Parkside,” Ford said. “We want to make sure all students are counted and we feel like we’ve been heard. Every time we go into a legislature’s office, they say they know one size doesn’t fit all.”
What Is Stealthing and Why do Lawmakers in California and Wisconsin Want it Classified as Rape?
Newsweek
Noted: Should the bills become law, they may encourage wider awareness of the crime both among law enforcement and civilians. In a statement to NBC News, the University of Wisconsin-Madison Police Department seemed unaware of the term’s existence altogether: “’Stealthing’ is a not a term we’re familiar with, so thanks for the explanation,” police spokesman Marc Lovicott wrote. “We have not investigated a case like that before.”
GOP Legislators Propose Limiting Protests During Speeches on WI College Campuses
WUWM
College campuses have long been hotbeds for protests during divisive political times. And they’ve invited speakers, some controversial, in an effort to offer multiple perspectives. But as rhetoric has heated up in recent months, some schools are struggling to accommodate such visits. Conservative Wisconsin legislators think they have the answer.
Critics say hearing on UW campus speech bill hung them out to dry
Capital Times
A public hearing on a Republican bill to prevent students at University of Wisconsin campuses from disrupting controversial speakers wasn’t exactly a model of the pro-free speech sentiment espoused in the proposal, said some critics who waited hours to have their say.
Lubar: Reinvest in Wisconsin’s world-class university system
Milwaukee Journal Sentinel
My wife, Marianne, and I are proud investors in Wisconsin’s largest economic engine: the world-class University of Wisconsin System.
The States Where Campus Free-Speech Bills Are Being Born: A Rundown
Chronicle of Higher Education
A wave of proposed legislation on campus free speech is making its way through statehouses across the nation. Last week Tennessee’s governor, Bill Haslam, signed into law a measure that the Foundation for Individual Rights in Education called “the most comprehensive state legislation protecting free speech on college campuses that we’ve seen passed anywhere in the country.”
Critics of proposed legislation on First Amendment rights at Wisconsin public universities say it goes too far
Inside Higher Education
Numerous states are considering legislation designed to ensure free speech on college campuses, following violent protests over speakers at the University of California, Berkeley, and Middlebury College. Some of the bills would, controversially, mandate punishing students who disrupt campus speakers and require institutions to keep mum on political issues — and perhaps nowhere has the debate been as contentious as in Wisconsin.
Patrick Durkin: UW-Madison’s tick-chasers enter busy season
Wisconsin State Journal
The Discovery Channel and movies such as “Twister” turn storm chasers into folk heroes, so it’s only right that Hollywood make heroes of UW-Madison professor Susan Paskewitz and her crews for fearlessly hunting Wisconsin’s disease-spreading deer ticks.
Hearing on UW protest bill shows conflicting views on state of campus speech
Wisconsin State Journal
The fault lines of a national debate over free speech in higher education were on display Thursday during a lengthy hearing on Republican legislation that would require University of Wisconsin institutions to discipline students who interrupt speakers.
Is free speech fading at colleges? Some think so
AP
In campus clashes from California to Vermont, many defenders of the First Amendment say they see signs that free speech, once a bedrock value in academia, is losing ground as a priority at U.S. colleges.
Groups, students at odds over university free speech bill
AP
A Republican plan to punish students who disrupt free speech on college campuses ran into opposition Thursday at its first public airing in the Legislature, with critics saying it impedes the very thing it seeks to protect.
Wisconsin Republicans no closer to road-funding deal
Madison.com
Walker has said he’d be willing to look at more spending from the state’s main account — which also pays for K-12 schools, the University of Wisconsin, prisons, Medicaid and other government operations — to help pay for roads. The transportation fund currently is mostly made up of money from the gas tax and vehicle registration fees.
Scholarship program would all but gut popular conservation fund
Wisconsin State Journal
A bill to create a new taxpayer-funded college scholarship for Wisconsin’s brightest students would have another big outcome — decimating a popular program that uses tax dollars to buy natural areas for public use.
Chris Rickert: UW scholarship plan laudable, but no freebie for taxpayers
Wisconsin State Journal
In short, students who will not have to show any financial need will get scholarships, the state will pay itself for some 77,000 acres of land it hasn’t been able to sell to anyone else, and money to buy more desirable land will be reduced — and taxpayers will, actually, pay for all of it.
GOP lawmakers propose $5M in UW merit scholarships, funded by sale of public lands
Wisconsin State Journal
High-performing students could receive scholarships worth $5,000 per year to attend Wisconsin’s public universities under a Republican bill backers said Tuesday could keep the state’s top young minds from going elsewhere. But some are questioning the complex model lawmakers have devised to pay for the new scholarships, which would be funded by the proceeds from the sale of public land from one state agency to another.
Scott Walker’s self-insurance proposal appears to be dead
Wisconsin State Journal
The Republican leaders of the Legislature’s budget committee plan to reject Gov. Scott Walker’s proposal to self-insure state employees, but find other ways to try to save money under the existing system.
Chancellor sets right tone for free speech on UW-Madison campus
Wisconsin State Journal
UW-Madison Chancellor Rebecca Blank got a couple of tough questions about free speech during an hour-long conference call with more than 6,000 alumni Monday. Her responses were impressive and should reassure conservatives that the state’s flagship university is committed to encouraging diverse views on campus.