University of Wisconsin-Milwaukee Faculty Fuss Leaves Out Important Facts

Madison – Before the faculty of the University of Wisconsin–Milwaukee (UW-M) issues their collective groan today about budgeting and ‘job for life’ tenure, it is important to highlight the facts.

• Full professor salaries averaged $101,700 in 2013-14 school year. Average annual pay for all workers in Milwaukee County was $49,539 in 2014.
• Spending per student increased more than 40 percent from 2002-03 to 2015-16.
• Faculty average student group contact hours, hours spent in classroom instruction, have dropped 20 percent from 2000 to 2013.
• At 2.8 students per faculty, average student enrollment per instructor is currently tied for second lowest in its history since 1994.
• Student enrollment has dropped nearly four times more than faculty from 2010 to 2014. 
• The number of students per faculty member has dropped slightly from 2000 to 2014.

“The facts speak for themselves,” Governor Walker said. “The bottom line is UW System funding stands at an all-time high, spending per student at UW-M is up more than 40 percent since 2002-03, and faculty is spending less time in the classroom. We want to preserve the world-renowned quality of the UW System while protecting students and taxpayers.”

• Wisconsin students and their families saw tuition increase by 118 percent in the ten years before Governor Walker’s historic tuition freeze, and that freeze has saved them more than $6,000 on average over four years. At UW-M, those savings are even higher at more than $7,000 in savings.

“Some faculty bodies, including faculty at UW-M today, appear more interested in protecting outdated ‘job for life’ tenure than about helping students get the best education possible,” said Governor Walker. “The University should not be about protecting the interests of the faculty, but about delivering value and excellence to Wisconsin.”

Source Documents:

https://www.wisconsin.edu/regents/download/meeting_materials/2015/july_2015/Full-Board-Agenda-and-Supporting-Materials-(Revised-7-8-15).pdf

http://docs.legis.wisconsin.gov/misc/lfb/informational_papers/january_2003/0036_university_of_wisconsin_system_overview_informational_paper_36.pdf

https://www.wisconsin.edu/accountability/access/

https://www.wisconsin.edu/accountability/faculty-and-staff/

NOTE: This press release was submitted to Urban Milwaukee and was not written by an Urban Milwaukee writer. It has not been verified for its accuracy or completeness.

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