The report comes at a time of guarded optimism for the University of Wisconsin System and its campuses. The election of Democratic Gov. Tony Evers is seen by higher education advocates as a way to offset some of the cuts imposed by his predecessor, Republican Gov. Scott Walker.
Gov. Tony Evers’ proposed budget for the 2019-’21 biennium includes a recommendation to allow undocumented students to receive in-state tuition at UW System and Wisconsin Technical College System institutions — and this is not the first time Wisconsin legislature has considered it.
UW-Madison officials are hoping lawmakers will help pay to build a new veterinary school on campus.
UW officials say the increase could indirectly help with a key university mission–research.
University of Wisconsin System President Ray Cross says university officials will continue to push lawmakers for investment in campus buildings despite the State Building Commission rejecting $2.5 billion in state renovation projects around the state.
UW-Madison students are signing up in record numbers to study computer science, elevating the program to be the most popular undergraduate major on campus in each of the last two years.
Noted: John Holovoet of the Wisconsin Dairy Business Association told of the proposed UW Dairy Innovation Hub $7.6 million funding request. The proposal focuses on four areas: land and water resource stewardship; enrichment of human health; growth of farm businesses and communities and animal health.
The governor included a request of $88 million of state funding for the expansion of the UW School of Veterinary Medicine that was built in 1983 to see 12,000 patients a year, a figure that has since risen to 27,000. The always top five rated school of Veterinary School in the nation has trained over 50 percent of the veterinarians practicing in the state. The $128 million project includes some $38 million from private donations in addition to the state funds.
The building commission is required to make recommendations and send them over to the Republican-controlled Joint Finance Committee. But now, the committee might have to start from scratch. That means it is possible that some projects could be delayed and others stalled from moving forward.
Noted: Nearly half of the $2.5 billion for building projects — or $1.1. billion — would be for University of Wisconsin System campuses, with more than $506 million of it coming from borrowing that would be paid back by taxpayers.
Republicans on the Wisconsin Building Commission rejected Democratic Gov. Tony Evers’ plan for $2.5 billion worth of construction projects across the state, an unprecedented move Wednesday that speaks to challenge of divided government and moves the fight over capital building projects to the Legislature.
In a likely unprecedented move, the State Building Commission failed Wednesday to recommend any of Democratic Gov. Tony Evers’ $2.5 billion in proposed capital budget projects after Republicans voted them down one by one.
Some Wisconsin higher education leaders say the proposed state budget from Democratic Gov. Tony Evers could reduce a worker shortage and keep more talent from leaving the state.
But the Wisconsin Farm Bureau would like to prioritize the positions of integrated specialist roles that would hold a joint appointment between UW-Madison’s College of Agricultural and Life Sciences and UW-Extension. Those specialists perform and teach the specialized research that is essential to Wisconsin farmers.
Evers proposed a $48 million renovation of the Kohl Center to include academic services for student athletes and a $78 million plan to renovate the Camp Randall Stadium south end zone bleachers to include field-level club space aimed at generating more funds.
University of Wisconsin System President Ray Cross stopped by the University of Wisconsin-Milwaukee’s aging chemistry building Wednesday to express his support for the governor’s plan to replace it with a new $129.5 million facility.
Republican lawmakers on Tuesday accused Democratic Gov. Tony Evers of giving undocumented students more favorable treatment than military veterans in his proposed state budget. But as Republicans waged a campaign against the spending plan, Democrats argued the GOP opposition was based on a flawed comparison.
Democrats have been pushing the concept for years, but it has failed to earn the support of Republicans who control the Legislature. Evers will need Republican approval to implement the refinancing effort, along with the rest of his budget.
About half the money from Governor Tony Evers’ proposed building program would be spent on University of Wisconsin campuses.
Gov. Tony Evers is proposing to restore $3.5 million to the University of Wisconsin-Extension under the next budget and boost the number of county agriculture agents.
Governor Tony Evers’ proposed capital budget includes borrowing $2 billion over the next two fiscal years, a plan at least one legislative leader calls “alarming.” A release from the governor’s office says Evers is “recommending historic investments in state-owned vertical infrastructure.”
Fitzgerald said in a statement the level of spending and borrowing in the plan is “alarming” especially given tax increases in Evers’ state budget proposal. That separate spending plan calls for raising the gas tax by 8 cents per gallon and capping tax credits for manufacturers.
Democratic Gov. Tony Evers has requested more than $2.5 billion in his two-year building projects capital budget, with close to half of the proposed money going to upgrades and renovations at University of Wisconsin System facilities.
Gov. Tony Evers wants to spend $2.5 billion on building projects — nearly half of which would be for University of Wisconsin System campuses.
A $150 million funding increase for University of Wisconsin campuses and major interstate improvements in the Milwaukee area are unlikely to happen without tax increases Republicans oppose, Gov. Tony Evers said Monday.
Officials from the University of Wisconsin-Eau Claire are happy with Governor Tony Evers’ first budget proposal.
When it comes to higher education, Evers pledged a $150 million increase for the University of Wisconsin System, which would be the UW’s largest state funding increase in more than a decade. Part of that would be used to offset the lost revenue from continuing a tuition freeze for in-state undergraduate students.
Evers, the former state schools chief, is also calling for a $1.4 billion boost in K-12 education funding, a 10 percent income tax cut targeting the middle class and a $150 million boost for the University of Wisconsin.
That will take some of the pressure off the UW Extension, which has struggled to staff ag agents at many of their county offices after deep cuts in recent years to the UW System budget.
The University of Wisconsin System would receive a $150 million boost, including funding to continue a tuition freeze implemented by former Walker, a pay raise for UW employees, a provision to allow Dreamers to pay in-state tuition and a study to determine the feasibility of creating a student loan refinancing authority.
Touching on lame-duck laws, criminal justice reform and repealing Walker legislation, Governor Tony Evers has given his first biennial budget address.
MADISON, Wis. – In his first budget proposal, Democratic Gov. Tony Evers will increase Wisconsin’s minimum wage, raise the gas tax, provide new funding for schools and give income tax cuts to middle income families.
Highlights of the two-year Wisconsin budget proposal released Thursday by Gov. Tony Evers:
Wisconsin’s gas tax would go up by 8 cents per gallon, state government would pick up a bigger share of school funding than it has in more than a decade and Medicaid would be expanded to an estimated 82,000 residents under the state budget proposal unveiled on Thursday by Democratic Gov. Tony Evers.
HIGHER EDUCATION: Evers plans to continue a tuition freeze at the University of Wisconsin for at least two years, boost funding by $150 million and allow for immigrants living in the U.S. illegally to pay in-state tuition. Republicans oppose the immigrant in-state tuition plan, a version of which they stripped from state law in 2011.
The Democratic governor told the Associated Press in Sunday’s State Journal that he planned to freeze in-state, undergraduate tuition in his 2019-2021 budget proposal. UW tuition for state residents has been flat since 2013, thanks to former Republican Gov. Scott Walker.
Gov. Tony Evers will propose a $150 million boost for the University of Wisconsin System in his first two-year budget, including funding to continue a tuition freeze implemented by former Gov. Scott Walker, a pay raise for UW employees, a provision to allow Dreamers to pay in-sate tuition and a study to determine the feasibility of creating a student loan refinancing authority.
Noted: The University of Wisconsin System Office of Educational Opportunity, which was created in 2015 and may authorize independent charter schools over the objection of school district officials, would be barred from authorizing new schools until 2023.
People who entered the country illegally could pay in-state tuition, a long-running tuition freeze would continue for another two years and institutions would receive an additional $150 million under Democratic Gov. Tony Evers’ executive budget proposal for the University of Wisconsin System.
Evers said his budget will have funds to offset the cost to continue, for another two years, the University of Wisconsin System tuition freeze for in-state students. He declined to say if the budget would include any additional state support for state colleges or universities.
The Board of Regents unanimously approved the pay plan at a meeting in La Crosse Thursday. Regents also backed an identical pay plan for UW-Madison.
MADISON – Incoming Gov. Tony Evers and lawmakers would need to come up with more than $2 billion just to keep doing what the state already does and provide a healthy increase to schools, according to a new report.
The number of Wisconsin high school graduates next school year is projected to reach its lowest level since 2000, sparking urgency and creativity in admissions offices across the state, all of whom will be competing to enroll the smallest pool of in-state students seen in years.
UW-Madison Chancellor Rebecca Blank says she is “really, deeply worried” about funding for the university’s building projects.
UW-Madison’s School of Veterinary Medicine and its adjoining hospital is poised to expand the amount of working space for students and staff by about 50 percent as part of a $128.1 million project.
Wisconsin’s flagship university remains one of the top public higher education institutions in the United States despite a slight drop compared to last year, according to a report released Monday.
MADISON — For those keeping score, the only votes Thursday against budget requests the University of Wisconsin System will send to the state came from a Democrat and a Republican member of the Board of Regents running for high-profile political offices.
The University of Wisconsin Board of Regents approved a pair of budget requests to state lawmakers, including a $1.9 billion capital budget request for building and renovation projects around the state.
The regents approved the request 16-1 on Thursday. The request seeks an additional $82.5 million in tax dollars to meet performance-based goals Republican legislators have imposed on the system.
The University of Wisconsin System Board of Regents has approved a $1.96 billion construction and maintenance budget request.
The University of Wisconsin System Board of Regents approved the System’s 2019-21 proposed operating and capital budgets on Thursday, with the only two dissenting votes coming from the two Regents running for political office.
Four projects would be funded by increases in student fees, including a new field house and soccer facility at UW-La Crosse; a new UW-Madison natatorium and recreational center; and a new UW-Stevens Point student health center.
State lawmakers are clashing in the wake of the new University of Wisconsin System budget proposal, disagreeing over the fundamental role of the university system.
The request the UW System will put forward for $107.5 million in new state funding over the next two years — $82.5 million in “outcomes-based” funding and $25 million to expand programs mostly in STEM and high-demand fields — is framed around “university and statutorily required goals.”
System leaders released their 2019-2021 budget request Monday. The Board of Regents is scheduled to vote on the request Thursday during a meeting at UW-Madison. Approval would send the request on to Gov. Scott Walker’s office for consideration as he begins work on his executive budget.
The University of Wisconsin System is asking for $107 million more in state money, three-quarters of which would be outcome-based, rewarding or punishing campuses based on how well they meet performance metrics such as student access, progress toward degree completion, “workforce contributions” and operating efficiencies.
Quoted: “For us, that does create some challenges as far as how we pay for what we do,” Gow said. “We do have inflationary cost increases. I don’t know how realistic it is to continue that forever.”
UW System leaders won’t seek any tuition or student fee increases in the next state budget but will consider asking Gov. Scott Walker for an additional $107 million in state aid to help meet Republican-imposed performance goals and increase access to high-demand programs.
Freezing tuition for in-state students at public colleges and universities is welcome help for Wisconsin families. But state leaders need to be realistic. Unless the state can provide better funding, too, the freeze will continue to harm schools.
Gov. Scott Walker says if re-elected to a third term, he’ll seek to extend the existing University of Wisconsin System tuition freeze for in-state undergraduate students for another four years.
Reisem is one of more than 500 cancer patients from Wisconsin who have had newly available genetic testing done on their tumors, which can lead doctors to use therapies that target specific mutations instead of standard chemotherapy. The initiative, started at the UW Carbone Cancer Center in 2015, is supported by $1 million in the current state budget.
