Wisconsin’s four-year university system receives less state funding and tuition than nearly every state in the nation, according to the latest study of higher education funding.
The Universities of Wisconsin ranked 44th out of 50 states in public funding in 2024 — a drop of one spot from 2023.
Nearly 800 business leaders and organizations have signed a letter urging state lawmakers to increase funding for the University of Wisconsin System.
The letter pulls a page from UW-Madison’s playbook. The university in 2023 gathered signatures from dozens of business leaders who supported an engineering building Republicans held up in the previous state budget and shared their support in a statewide campaign.
Wisconsin’s technical colleges get about 70% more in-state aid per full-time student than the Universities of Wisconsin get for one of theirs, new data shows.
The ongoing gap is a talking point the UW system has used for years to lobby for more state funding.
Evers and Republicans have been talking about a tax cut plan they both could support but have not released details. Republicans argue that most of the state’s roughly $4 billion surplus should be returned as tax cuts rather than used to support spending on K-12 schools, the University of Wisconsin and other state programs.
Wisconsin Public Radio has, in varying forms, been an essential part of this state’s media landscape for more than a century. PBS Wisconsin, with roots tracing back to the early days of WHA-TV, has been just as essential for the past 70 years.
The UW System has repeatedly requested the Legislature to fund a program to cover tuition and fees for students whose family incomes fall below a certain threshold. UW-Madison already offers a tuition promise program and funds it without state taxpayer money.
Republican-ordered audits found April 11 determined Wisconsin state agencies and the University of Wisconsin System failed to track millions of dollars spent on diversity, equity and inclusion efforts during the 2023-24 fiscal year — making it difficult to fully assess the efforts which have been under review due to recent federal orders.
The audits released by the nonpartisan Legislative Audit Bureau showed the Universities of Wisconsin and state agencies have failed to track millions of dollars spent on diversity, equity and inclusion efforts.
President of the Dane County NAACP chapter Greg Jones was the only member of the public to testify at a Joint Audit Committee hearing Tuesday on two recent audits into the diversity, equity and inclusion practices of state agencies and the Universities of Wisconsin. His message to lawmakers was simple: listen to individuals’ stories about the impact of diversity, equity and inclusion programs and stay away from politicized attacks on DEI.
University of Wisconsin System President Jay Rothman continued to push for an increase in state funding, defending the system’s 2025-27 biennial budget request at a committee hearing Thursday while impending federal funding cuts cast a long shadow over higher education in Wisconsin.
In a column published in the Wisconsin State Journal, Mnookin addressed the recent visa terminations of UW-Madison students and alumni. As of Tuesday, the university is aware of the termination of 27 total records, which includes 15 current students and 12 alumni.
UW-Madison Chancellor Jennifer Mnookin discussed the many issues facing the university, including concerns over federal investigations, funding cuts, and international student visa revocations, as well as the 2025 state budget cycle.
UW-Madison officials’ sense of relief Thursday was almost palpable at the official groundbreaking for the new engineering building.
More than 250 people gathered on campus to rally against the Trump administration and demand action from UW-Madison higher-ups. The local unions representing university faculty, academic staff, and graduate students organized the demonstration, joining countless others today across the country as part of the National Day of Action for Higher Ed.
Federal funding cuts and national culture war politics cast a long shadow over a state legislative committee hearing Thursday as Wisconsin’s higher education leaders asked lawmakers for additional investments in the next state budget — warning that disinvestment by the state could damage public universities’, private nonprofit schools’ and technical colleges’ ability to serve students and the state.
Campus leaders and Gov. Tony Evers broke ground Thursday on a new engineering building at the University of Wisconsin-Madison, after long delays and a protracted political funding battle.
The Universities of Wisconsin is set to pay a consulting firm $395,000 after a diversity leader at the system’s flagship campus was demoted over financial concerns.
At an April 1 hearing, in a sign of what the most contentious issues will be in this year’s state budget, the Republican-controlled budget committee only heard from two state agencies: Corrections and the Universities of Wisconsin system.
The University of Wisconsin will implement fiscal controls for the remainder of the 2025 fiscal year including hiring reviews, reductions in non-essential spending and the development of 5% and 10% budget reduction scenarios for fund 101 — a fund dedicated to state tax, federal indirect cost and tuition allocation.
Republican-ordered audits released Friday found that Wisconsin state agencies and the University of Wisconsin system have failed to track the millions of dollars they spent on diversity, equity, and inclusion efforts, making it difficult to fully assess the initiatives.
A highly anticipated state audit found University of Wisconsin System campuses do not track how much they spend on diversity, equity and inclusion efforts, or whether the millions spent on these initiatives pay off.
State agencies and the University of Wisconsin System failed to adequately track millions of dollars spent on diversity, equity and inclusion (DEI) initiatives, according to audits released Friday, fueling ongoing Republican efforts to dismantle such programs.
The University of Wisconsin system and several state agencies failed to specifically track spending on diversity, equity and inclusion (DEI) initiatives, Wisconsin’s Legislative Audit Bureau (WLAB) recently revealed.
Somewhere on UW-Madison’s cramped campus, university leaders hope to find space for a residence hall with up to 2,000 new beds, the first new dorm in more than a decade.
UW-Madison may seek a tuition increase if the state Legislature does not fully fund its 2025-2027 budget request, a university finance official said at an April 3 university budget committee meeting.
An agreement approved by the Joint Committee on Employment Relations, the Wisconsin State Legislature and Gov. Tony Evers increases the University of Wisconsin Building Trades employee wages, according to a press release from UW.
The heads of the Universities of Wisconsin system and the state Department of Corrections faced critical questions from Republican state lawmakers Tuesday over requests for new state funding.
UW-Madison administrators have long wanted to tear down the Humanities Building for a host of reasons. The facility has faced problems since before it opened in the late 1960s, including costly construction, design cuts and poor acoustics.
Leaders of the Universities of Wisconsin and the state Department of Corrections (DOC) defended Gov. Tony Evers’ budget requests to lawmakers on the Joint Finance Committee during a meeting Tuesday.
The State Building Commission has deadlocked on recommendations for new capital spending in the upcoming budget Tuesday, ceding its authority once again to the Legislature’s Republican-controlled budget committee.
The Universities of Wisconsin System requested a variety of projects when the State Building Commission was considering allocation of its funds, according to the official State Building Commission’s agenda and requests statement. These included new electrical systems, demolition and replacement of old or outdated buildings along with fixing and adding parking lots around campus, according to the agenda and requests statement.
Gov. Tony Evers visited the University of Wisconsin-Madison Thursday, touring Chadbourne Residence Hall and the Mosse Humanities Building to hear student concerns about the building and to highlight his 2025-27 Executive and Capital Budget investments.
The committee heard testimony from agencies with employees who telework, including the Department of Public Instruction and the Department of Safety and Professional Services, in addition to the University of Wisconsin System and private-sector companies.
Gov. Tony Evers announced the 2025-27 Capital Budget, proposing investments of $4.1 billion directed towards renovating aging infrastructure within the University of Wisconsin System.
Gov. Tony Evers is recommending the state take a wrecking ball to numerous aging state facilities, including the Green Bay Correctional Institution and UW-Madison’s Mosse Humanities building, as part of his $4.1 billion capital spending plan.
Democratic Gov. Tony Evers wants to spend about $4 billion on state building upgrades across Wisconsin under a plan released Monday.
If approved, about $1.6 billion would go to the University of Wisconsin System for brick-and-mortar building projects. Other big-ticket items include $634 million for the Department of Corrections, $137 million for upgrades to veteran homes and $40 million to restore the state Capitol building.
Gov. Tony Evers unveiled a capital budget Monday that calls for $4.1 billion in new building projects around the state, with the largest chunk going toward Universities of Wisconsin campuses.
Essentially, the University of Wisconsin-Madison wants the authority to borrow money for construction projects that are funded by the university and don’t involve state tax dollars. Currently, that authority rests with the state.
Evers highlighted his “Year of the Kid” designation and said a focus needs to be on schools during the budget season. An ongoing battle over literacy funding from the last budget is yet to be squared away and he called for setting aside funds for youth mental health. Though funding for public schools, the University of Wisconsin and the state’s technical schools is large, it’s a necessary investment, especially because of the uncertainty at the federal level, he said.
UW-Madison is balking at a key lawmaker’s claim that the university has broken its promise to establish an endowed professorship focusing on conservative politics or thought.
Jay Rothman interview with WISC-TV on the state budget bill introduced this week by Gov. Evers.
UW-Madison has eyed the demise of the Humanities building for the last decade, when leaders developed the current campus master plan, a wide-ranging road map for new developments and renovations, in 2015.
The governor’s budget proposal would increase K-12 spending by a substantial $3.15 billion, in addition to more than $850 million for the Universities of Wisconsin System. A child care subsidy, previously subsidized by the federal government, would be paid for by $480 million in state funds under Evers’ plan.
For higher education, Evers proposed $856 million for the University of Wisconsin System, in line with the agency’s request. That includes an about $40 million scholarship program to benefit around 5,000 students whose families have an income less than the state median.
Evers proposed $856 million in new operational funding for the UW system, more than the $800 million he pledged to the UW Board of Regents last August. His proposed budget also includes $60 million in new state aid for Wisconsin’s technical college system, $10 million of which is meant to support the 16 two-year colleges in investing in artificial intelligence.
In June, the governor said he wanted to see an additional $856 million go to the Universities of Wisconsin. Evers said the next state spending plan is a “make-or-break budget for our UW campuses.”
Evers will ask the Legislature to approve an additional $856 million in funding for the University of Wisconsin System, the largest two-year increase in history.
The UW System is asking for roughly $855 million over two years from the state and urged support for that funding during a discussion with members of the Hoan Group, a private group of about 160 business and community members in the Milwaukee and Madison area.
Changes to federal funding directly impacts Wisconsin’s largest university. The National Institutes of Health is reducing the rate for its “indirect costs” grants to 15%, which goes into effect on February 10.
UW system Capital Planning Vice President Alex Roe told the UW Board of Regents that two projects are a particular concern: UW-Stout’s $138.9 million Heritage Hall project and the $96.3 million Cofrin Library at UW-Green Bay.
Public and private leaders in Milwaukee say increasing funding for the Universities of Wisconsin system will lead to more people living and working in the state.
Work can begin on a new engineering building at the University of Wisconsin-Madison after the State Building Commission reversed course Friday and approved the long-awaited project.
The State Building Commission on Friday approved a new proposal to use unspent funds for a new engineering building at the University of Wisconsin-Madison and other projects in the university system.
Construction proposed to begin in 2026, end in 2029.
The embattled University of Wisconsin-Madison engineering building is back on track.
The State Building Commission unanimously approved the project’s new $420 million budget during a Friday meeting, a few weeks after Republican lawmakers stalled the project last month over transparency concerns related to increasing the project’s budget.
The Wisconsin State Building Commission approved funding for the University of Wisconsin-Madison’s new engineering hall in a unanimous vote Friday.
Plans to build UW-Madison’s new $419 million engineering building got back on track Friday after the state’s Building Commission — which initially denied UW system’s request to reallocate millions in state funds for the Madison project and others — signed off on the transfers.
Despite losing 14 seats in the fall election, GOP legislators still feel empowered to hold the state’s largest economic engine hostage to the whims of its most petty members. Republicans on the state Building Commission ganged up on UW-Madison last week and threw another obstacle in the path of the long-awaited and already-approved new engineering building.
When UW leaders asked for $845 million, a fraction of the total amount cut from the UW budget under his watch, Assembly Speaker Vos said, “I just know that some of these numbers, where they ask for the moon, are unrealistic.”
When Vos graduated from UW-Whitewater in 1991, Wisconsin’s higher education appropriations per student were $11,028. In 2023 it was $9,277. So the “moon” was realistic when he personally benefited from taxpayer support, but is unrealistic when it is your turn to benefit?
The State Building Commission denied a motion to allow $70 million in underspent funds to be used for a series of planned Universities of Wisconsin projects including the new engineering building at UW-Madison.
