As the new year approaches, I have our future students on my mind.
Today one of our core values is at stake—something that should concern all of us who are committed to the future of our college, UW–Madison and Wisconsin. I am talking about declining state support for postsecondary education and its devastating effect on our young people and their opportunities. (more…)
The Chronicle of Higher Education recently published the following article on rising costs at public universities:
Rise in Sticker Price at Public Colleges Outpaces That at Private Colleges for 5th Year in a Row, by Beckie Supiano, October 26, 2011
The average price for tuition and fees at public four-year colleges was $8,244 for in-state students in 2011-12, up from $7,613 in 2010-11, an 8.3-percent increase. That percentage change drops to 7.0 percent if California—which had a 21-percent increase in tuition in that one-year period—is excluded.
Here in Wisconsin, in-state tuition and fees for the University of Wisconsin-Madison for the fall 2011 semester totaled $4,832.50, compared with $4,491.60 for the fall 2010 semester; in-state tuition and fees for UW-Milwaukee for the fall 2011 semester totaled $4,337.70, compared with $4,075.63 for the fall 2010 semester. In percentage terms, the increases are 7.6% and 6.4%, respectively.
The basic message in this is that UW-Madison’s in-state tuition is still well below the national average, but the percentage increase is comparable to that experienced elsewhere. In short, like elsewhere, the investment by the state of Wisconsin in making higher education affordable for all of its citizens is being dialed back.
We already knew this, of course. But the latest massive hits to the UW-System budget, not reflected in the above figures, are virtually certain to sharply accelerate the cost increases. In fact, if current trends continue, we can expect to see the distinction between private and public institutions become almost meaningless.
Is this really what the citizens of Wisconsin want?
My posting on Wednesday on the reductions in state funding of UW was incorrect. I relied on a number of news accounts (Milwaukee Journal-Sentinel, WSJ, etc.) for the information. Now, having read Vice Chancellor Bazzell’s memo, it is clear that the cuts will be far worse than originally reported.
To recap, news accounts in all major media initially stated that the UW-System would be subject to about $65 million in cuts over the biennium as a part of an overall state budget reduction of $174 million. (UW-Madison’s share of the reduction would be $24.6 million.) The Dept of Administration, which apportions the cuts, did not explain why UW would shoulder 37% of the reduction despite the fact that it constitutes only 7% of the state budget.
Today, the other shoe dropped. The other shoe in this instance is the probable loss of $111 million over the biennium; our share of an overall budget reduction of $300 million. Madison’s loss would be $42.6 million. This loss alone could not be “made up” if tuition for every student was increased $1000/ year. This is, of course, in addition to the $250 million loss to the System (and Madison) in the budget passed last summer. In contrast, aid to local government ($1.9 billion) is only nicked ($3 million) as is aid to K-12 education, the biggest item in the budget. Under the “$300 million scenario”, the UWS would still lose a disproportionate share of its state funding at a ratio of 5:1.
While the budget reduction of $300 million has not been ordered, agencies have been told to prepare for the loss. The reduction will be ordered if tax revenues do not increase in the next few months.
Under the $300 million reduction scenario, the Dept of Corrections would reduce its budget by $23 million or 1.4%. This would result in the UW receiving 6.7% of the state budget and the Dept of Corrections receiving 6.8%. The trend lines have crossed.
| UW System | |||
| Budget | % of Total State Budget | % of Agency Budget | |
| Before Cut | $2,095,251,600 | 7.2% | |
| Cut | $163,900,000 | 7.8% | |
| After Cut | $1,931,351,600 | 6.7% | |
| Department of Corrections | |||
| Budget | % of Total State Budget | % of agency budget | |
| Before Cut | $1,994,614,400 | 6.9% | |
| Cut | $27,924,602 | 1.4% | |
| After Cut | $1,966,689,798 | 6.8% | |
DMA
For many years there has been an interest in the ever-increasing state funding of corrections (aka “prisons”) and the simultaneous decline in the proportion of state funding of higher education. While there is reasonable debate about whether the state contribution has in fact increased in real dollars or the inestimable value of “stopping crime”, there remains enormous symbolic value in the primacy of being the state function that receives the most money. Its the old, “we’re number one!”
With the announcement of the new round of budget cuts ($65 million for the System, $13 million for Corrections), I reviewed LFB publications to see if indeed the UW is still #1 in the purse, if not the hearts, of Wisconsin.
I found (see table below) that although UWS funding will be $48M greater than that of Corrections (after the cuts), they are not only in the same ballpark, they are almost on the same base. UWS receives 7% of the total share of state funding while Corrections receives 6.8%. The budgetary trend lines of the two agencies have nearly merged because the budget reduction of UW is four times greater (as a percent of their budget) than that imposed on Corrections.
With additional inequitable budget reductions probable due to inflated revenue estimates, will Badger fans yell, “We’re Number Two! We’re Number Two!”
| UW System | |||
| Budget | % of Total State Budget | % of Agency Budget | |
| Before Cut | $2,095,251,600 | 7.2% | |
| Cut | $65,769,847 | 3.1% | |
| After Cut | $2,029,481,753 | 7.0% | |
| Department of Corrections | |||
| Budget | % of Total State Budget | % of agency budget | |
| Before Cut | $1,994,614,400 | 6.9% | |
| Cut | $13,400,479 | 0.7% | |
| After Cut | $1,981,213,921 | 6.8% | |
DMA
In Inside Higher Ed‘s otherwise balanced and comprehensive review of the NBP and its remains, one statement stands out as demonstrably false and ultimately self-serving: Near the end of the very long article, on the issue of continued state support for higher education, Martin says, “We have laid the groundwork for increased investment in higher education when the economy in Wisconsin begins to grow again.” (more…)
Bashing System and the Regents has joined football, hockey and basketball as a major sport on the UW-Madison campus, including in (often grossly insulting) comments on this blog. As Sara Goldrick-Rab has just pointed out (here), players in this game often have no data of any kind.
One theme is that System bleeds state funding to Madison, diverts money from the flagship to other campuses and that as budgets get cut, Madison suffers disproportionately. There’s evidence on this: the non-partisan Legislative Fiscal Bureau has just provided vast amounts about higher ed funding in Wisconsin. (Here are the links, with a little context.) #690 lays out the material on public authority. Check out this passage from paragraph 10 (p. 4):
When adjusted for inflation, state funding provided for UW-Madison and for all other UW System institutions decreased from 1990-91 to 2010-11. Over that period of time, state funding for UW-Madison decreased by 2.8% while state funding for all other UW System institutions decreased by 6.8%. At the same time, enrollment at UW-Madison increased by 1.5% while enrollments at all other UW System institutions increased by 23.4%. When these increases in enrollment are controlled for, state funding for UW-Madison decreased by 4.2% while state funding for all other UW System institutions decreased by 24.4%.
As I understand this, over the last 20 years, Madison has had a tiny increase in enrollments while other campuses have grown by a quarter, yet other campuses have been hit far harder by budget cuts.
Three weeks ago, S&W contributor Joe Salmons shared his conviction, apparently based on his conversations with key lawmakers, that Public Authority was already dead.
Despite that spreading belief, which was also shared by Paul Fanlund of the Capital Times and others, lobbying for the NBP continued unabated, with one observer likening the Public Authority to Monty Python’s dead parrot.
Subsequently, the “compromise” proposal was floated that UW-Madison remain within the System but get its own Board of Trustees, an idea that was sharply criticized by almost everyone who knew anything about it, including former UW-Madison adminstrator Harry Peterson.
A report this afternoon by the Cap Times’ Todd Finkelmeyer seems to make the deaths of both the Public Authority and the two-boards proposal official:
With that news, the closing comments from Joe Salmon’s May 5 post seem worth reposting: (more…)
[The following article was provided to legislators this week by Dr. Harry Peterson. It is reproduced here with his permission. - Ed.]
I understand that there is no significant legislative support to break away the UW-Madison from the UW System and provide the UW-Madison its own governing board. I have been told that a “compromise” approach would provide a governing board for the UW-Madison and have that university remain in the UW System.
I do not know with whom such a “compromise” would be struck, but, this idea fails badly and is seriously flawed. (more…)