UW–Madison and the State Budget

Budget News

• Wisconsin Policy Forum releases report on the state of higher ed

  December 15, 2020

  The Wisconsin Policy Forum today issued a report on the financial state of higher education in Wisconsin, including UW System and UW-Madison.

  The report details the financial challenges facing the state’s four-year and two-year campuses in the UW System and Wisconsin Technical College System, including the mounting impact of COVID-19.  It also offers some suggestions and recommendations to policymakers for how to help the systems thrive.

  “UW-Madison strives to be a good steward of state dollars while fulfilling our mission of teaching, research and outreach. I welcome public discussion and reports like this, which raises a number of important issues related to maintaining a strong system of higher education in the state,” said UW-Madison Chancellor Rebecca Blank. “I hope that policymakers will consider these issues as they construct and deliberate over the upcoming biennial budget. We share with all UW campuses in Wisconsin the goal of providing Wisconsin high school graduates the best value for their education dollar.”

  Media coverage of the report:

  Wisconsin Public Radio

  Report: Wisconsin Ranks 41st In Nation For Total Revenues To Higher Education

  Wisconsin State Journal

  Wisconsin’s tuition freeze squeezes its campuses tighter than other states have, report says

  Milwaukee Journal Sentinel

  Report: Wisconsin’s public colleges are falling behind as state funds lag and enrollment drops

• Campus budget and furlough update

  October 26, 2020

  Chancellor Rebecca Blank sent the following message to all employees on Oct. 26.

  To our employees,

  This has been a year unlike any other in the history of our institution. I’m tremendously proud of the way everyone in our campus community has pulled together amid great adversity.

  .Through the summer and fall we’ve targeted October as a month where we would be able to make a clearer assessment of our finances, looking ahead to 2021. I want to recap the steps we have taken to date and explain why we will be launching an additional set of furloughs and expense reductions.

  Read the full message: https://news.wisc.edu/chancellor-blank-campus-budget-and-furlough-update.

• Regents approve 2021-23 biennial budget request

  August 20, 2020

  The UW System Board of Regents today approved its 2021-23 biennial operating budget request, seeking a state funding increase of 3.5 percent in each of the next two years, providing $95.7 million over the next two years for a number of initiatives.

  “I strongly support the biennial budget request forwarded by UW System leadership and approved by the Board of Regents,” UW-Madison Chancellor Rebecca Blank says in a statement. “It’s a modest proposal that recognizes that investment in higher education is key to boosting our economy, even in difficult times.”

  Among the initiatives outlined in the budget request:

  • Expand and enhance online educational opportunities.
  • Support 20 county-based agriculture positions within the Division of Extension at UW-Madison.
  • Expand initiatives to support students’ mental and behavioral health.
  • Expand educational opportunity into Wisconsin’s prisons.
  • Launch the Wisconsin Tuition Promise, to extend UW-Madison’s Bucky’s Tuition Promise to all UW System campuses.
  • Increase funding for existing student loan forgiveness programs for teachers and school leaders, and provide UW students stipends to teach in schools during their second semester of junior year.

  The board also approved a capital budget request that includes bonding for two key UW-Madison projects, the replacement of the College of Engineering and Letters & Science academic buildings.

  “A new College of Engineering building will help create new space for students, with the plan to increase the engineering undergraduate population by 1,000, helping to meet the demand from Wisconsin employers for more engineers,” Blank says. “A new Letters & Science academic building will create new classrooms that support active learning, modern technology, and collaborative learning – elements proven to boost educational engagement and outcomes.”

  The request will be forwarded to the state Department of Administration, which collects agency budget proposal. Governor Tony Evers will sent his budget proposal to legislators early next year. The biennial budget must be approved by both legislative houses before returning to the governor for his signature.

• More News