Rothman, Republican Legislator Disagree on UW Funding
Does Wisconsin need to spend as much as other states to 'win the war for talent'?
UW System President Jay Rothman speaks Thursday, Aug. 18, 2022 during the UW System Board of Regents meeting at UW-Green Bay. Angela Major/WPR
The Universities of Wisconsin cites challenges that appear in a recent third-party review of its finances, in hopes the state Legislature will grant its $855 million budget increase request for the state’s upcoming biennial budget.
In an interview with WPR’s “Wisconsin Today,” Universities of Wisconsin President Jay Rothman said he expects more oversight from the UW Board of Regents based on the results of the third-party review.
“Right now, our Board of Regents have a process by which they approve programs,” Rothman said. “And I think what will ultimately flow from this is a process by which the board will review program discontinuances and program suspensions.”
Rothman said low enrollment in some university programs is a “natural evolution” based on which are most in-demand.
“Nearly 40 percent of our graduates are in STEM or healthcare fields,” Rothman said. “That’s up 30 percent in the last 10 years.”
“This is not a new development,” he continued. “This needs to be looked at in context. Over the last five years, we have closed or discontinued over 100 programs among the Universities of Wisconsin. So this is an ongoing process.”
Prior to Rothman’s interview, state Senate majority leader Eric Wimberger joined “Wisconsin Today” to share his thoughts on the university system’s budget increase request. Wimberger is a member of the Senate Joint Committee on Finance.
In response to low enrollment numbers in certain programs, Wimberger said a bigger budget for administration and support staff doesn’t necessarily mean student performance or degree value will increase.
“I always find it confusing when people talk about student loan debt and people can’t find a job to pay off their student loans,” Wimberger said. “That indicates it was not an investment that has a payoff. If higher education had a payoff on the investment, there would not be a student loan problem. So I think we need to reanalyze how we think of higher education.”
According to Rothman, the budget increase request would help keep the UW’s “Tuition Promise” intact, attract and retain talent statewide, and keep the institutions competitive with other universities in the country.
“Wisconsin is currently 43rd out of 50 states in terms of its public support for its university system,” Rothman said. “The $855 million over the two years of the biennium would get Wisconsin to the average or median level. We think that’s a reasonable ask to continue to ensure affordability and accessibility for Wisconsinites to our 13 great universities.”
Wimberger, however, said comparing the budget to others around the country isn’t a compelling reason to expand it.
“I think the UW needs to get focused on what’s important,” Wimberger said. “Expanding just so you can say that you spend as much as somebody else is a non sequitur.”
Rothman said the UW system is highly focused on graduation rates, and budget comparisons offer context about university operations.
“Universities of Wisconsin are focused on serving the state and helping Wisconsin win the war for talent,” Rothman said. “We’ve set a very aggressive goal in terms of increasing the number of graduates from our universities, and those are the future nurses and data scientists and engineers and teachers … If we don’t produce those graduates, the jobs that the great employers of Wisconsin are creating today are going to go unfilled.”
UW graduation rates, degree demand are top of mind with $855M budget increase request was originally published by Wisconsin Public Radio.
