Category: The state

Sifting and Winnowing: Reframing the Conversation About Tuition

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Sifting and Winnowing, an independent blog for the University of Wisconsin-Madison, offers a new view on tuition today. The  anonymous writer of the blog post argues that resident tuition could be viewed as nothing more than state-subsidized non-resident tuition. When viewed this way, changes in state support will directly and more transparently affect the cost of tuition:

1. Let the overall budgetary needs of the University, constrained by market considerations (e.g., comparisons to peer universities) and/or a voluntary growth cap, objectively determine out-of-state tuition.

2. Let the state subsidy to the University, divided among the number of in-state students, objectively determine the reduction in in-state tuition relative to the out-of-state cost.

With tuition decisions framed in this way, reductions in state GPR will no longer destabilize overall university finances as they have for the past decade, but they will be much more visibly linked to reductions in affordability and/or access for in-state students.

Legislative Update

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The Legislature remains in session until April 3, and both houses have been meeting to wrap up pending legislation before the summer recess.

Legislation (SB 578 and AB 729) allowing classified research on University of Wisconsin System campuses passed the assembly last month and public hearing was held in the senate earlier this week. A vote on the bill has not been scheduled. PROFS is registered in favor of the bill and offered this statement to the Senate Universities and Technical Colleges committee on Wednesday.

Several controversial proposals are under discussion:

Senate Bill 655, legislation that would make many changes to campaign finance and lobbying laws. The bill would lengthen the amount of time each year that lobbyist can make political contributions and allow lobbyists to deliver campaign contributions to legislators anytime during the year.

Senate Bill 619, legislation that would stop the implementation of Common Core Standards in the state.

Assembly Bill 750, legislation that would forbid local living wage ordinances when state and federal money is used for workers’ salaries. Dane County, Madison, and Milwaukee all have living wage ordinances. The bill would also bar residency requirements for workers on public works projects.

The Assembly Republican  caucus met earlier this week to remove Representative Bill Kraemer of Waukesha from his post as Majority Leader after allegations of misconduct became public. The caucus selected Representative Pat Strachota (R-West Bend) to serve as majority leader, the first woman to hold the position in Wisconsin.

Several legislators have announced they will retire at the end of their term or pursue higher office. The following senators have announced they will retire at the end of their term:

  • Senator Tim Cullen (D-Janesville)
  • Senator Bob Jauch (D-Poplar)
  • Senator Dale Schultz (R-Richland Center)

The following assembly members will not run again:

  • Rep. Penny Bernard-Schaber (D-Appleton)
  • Rep. Janet Bewley (D-Ashland)
  • Rep. Garey Bies (R-Sister Bay)
  • Rep. Fred Clark (D-Baraboo)
  • Rep. John Klenke (R-Green Bay)
  • Rep. Dan LeMahieu (R-Cascade)
  • Rep. Howard Marklein (R-Spring Green)
  • Rep. Jon Richards (D-Milwaukee)
  • Rep. Janis Ringhand (D-Evansville)
  • Rep. Pat Strachota (R-West Bend)
  • Rep. Mary Williams (R-Medford)

Bernard-Schaber has announced she will challenge Senator Michael Ellis (R-Neenah) in the fall, and Richards has announced a run for Wisconsin Attorney General. Marklein announced plans to challenge Senator Dale Schultz before Schultz announced his retirement. Bewley has indicated she will run for Cullen’s seat.

Candidates may circulate nomination papers between April 15 and June 2. Legislators who plan to retire must file a statement of non-candidacy by May 23.

 

 

Senate Committee to Discuss Bill Allowing Classified Research on Campus

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The Senate Committee on Universities and Technical Colleges will meet at 11 am tomorrow, Wednesday, March 5 in Room 400 Southeast of the State Capitol to discuss legislation (SB 578 and AB 729) that would allow classified research on University of Wisconsin System campuses. A UW System administrative policy currently prohibits such research.

The original bills included language that would allow exemptions to the state’s open records law, but that language was removed after Assembly Colleges and Universities Committee Chair Representative Stephen Nass (R-Whitewater) said he would not schedule a vote on proposal if it included the exemption. The open records provision was removed and an amended version of AB 729 passed the Assembly on February 20.

PROFS worked with the authors of the legislation and is registered in support of the bill. PROFS supports the legislation because it ensures faculty will have a say in any decisions regarding classified research on campus and some faculty have expressed interest in doing classified research.

Regents to Meet Thursday

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uw system logoThe University of Wisconsin System Board of Regents will meet in Madison this Thursday, March 6. The meeting is the first since UW System President Ray Cross took office last month. Cross is scheduled to address the regents shortly after the meeting begins at 9 am.

The meeting will feature a presentation by Dennis Winters, chief economic officer at the Department of Workforce Development, and two panel discussions on the role UW System can play in the state’s economic development efforts. UW-Madison Chancellor Rebecca Blank will participate in the discussion focusing on how UW System can help Wisconsin employers become more competitive.

Some of the questions regents and panelists will consider include:

  • How do business leaders use the resources within UW institutions?
  • What are business leaders’ biggest competitive challenges? Are there things UW institutions could be doing that they are not?
  • Who do business leaders hire from UW institutions? What skills and experience are needed? What kind of employees will be needed in the future.
  • What specific activities do UW institutions undertake to keep academic programs and initiatives relevant to employers, the community, and students?
  • How can curricula be structured to best meet the needs of the state?
  • How can UW institutions best prepare students? How do students perceive their level of preparation for employment or starting a business in Wisconsin? 
  • To what extent should UW institutions consider reprioritizing or reallocating resources to expand certain academic programs or scale down others?

The board will also discuss the development of the 2015-17 biennial budget. UW System is expected to outline its budget priorities later this summer.

Assembly to Vote on the Bill Allowing Classified Research on Campus

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The Assembly will meet today at 1 pm to discuss and vote on many proposals, including Assembly Bill 729 which would allow classified research on University of Wisconsin System campuses.

The bill was introduced earlier this month and approved by the Assembly Committee on Colleges and Universities Tuesday. The proposal will move to the Senate if approved by the full Assembly today.

PROFS is registered in favor of AB 729. 

Other items on the Assembly’s agenda today include:

AB 750, legislation that would forbid local living wage ordinances when state and federal money is used for workers’ salaries. Dane County, Madison, and Milwaukee all have living wage ordinances. The bill would also bar residency requirements for workers on public works projects.

SB 267, legislation that would require poll workers to note the type of identifying document used by a voter when registering to vote. That information must also be reported to the Government Accountability Board.

SB 284, legislation that would allow 7th and 8th graders to earn high school credit.

 

Legislative Committee to Vote on Bill Allowing Classified Research on Campus

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The Assembly Colleges and Universities Committee will meet at 9 am Tuesday, February 18 in Room 328 Northwest of the of the State Capitol to vote on three bills, including one that would allow classified research on University of Wisconsin System campuses. A UW System administrative policy currently prohibits such research.

A public hearing on Assembly Bill 729 was held last week. Committee chair Representative Stephen Nass (R-Whitewater) expressed concern over the portion of the bill that would allow exemptions to the state’s open records law and said he would not schedule a vote on the bill until the provision was removed.

Representative Mike Kuglitsch (R-New Berlin), the bill’s primary sponsor, agreed to remove the provision (Assembly Amendment 1 to AB 729), and the committee will vote on the amended bill tomorrow.

PROFS worked with the authors of the legislation and is registered in support of the bill. PROFS supports the legislation because it ensures faculty will have a say in any decisions regarding classified research. Additionally, some faculty have expressed an interest in doing more classified research. 

ETA 2/18/14: The amended bill was approved by the committee with little discussion.

UW-Madison Political Scientists Testify on Legislative Redistricting

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winter capitolRetiring senators Tim Cullen (D-Janesville) and Dale Schultz (R-Richland Center) held a public hearing on legislative redistricting yesterday, filling a hearing room where more than 75 people testified or registered in support of Assembly Bill 185. The bill would put legislative redistricting in the hands of non-partisan experts but still allow legislative oversight.

Political science professors Ken Mayer and David Canon spoke at the hearing, testifying that the current process is costly and overtly political. Instead, the two experts favor a model used by neighboring Iowa. The Iowa system requires district boundaries to be drawn logically, following municipality borders where possible.

In Wisconsin, the political party in power is responsible for redrawing legislative districts every ten years, resulting in districts that help preserve that party’s majority.

Canon, referring to the most recent maps drawn in 2012, said that practice eliminates competitive legislative races:

“The maps, in fact, were carefully drawn to maximize the advantage for the Republican Party. This is a bipartisan issue, because if Democrats were in control they would have done the same thing.”

Mayer said current practice is “divisive, polarizing, expensive, litigious and undermines basic notions of representation.”

PROFS has been working on the issue of legislative redistricting for some time and arranged a meeting between UW-Madison faculty and Senators Cullen and Schultz last year. PROFS is registered in favor AB 185 and its companion SB 163.

Bill Would Allow Classified Research on Campus; Public Hearing Today

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Assembly Bill 729, a bipartisan proposal to allow classified research on University of Wisconsin System campuses, was introduced last week and referred to the Assembly Committee on Colleges and Universities.

The bill, authored by State Representative Mike Kuglitsch (R-New Berlin), would limit classified research contracts to those related to national security issues. Additional criteria would also have to be met for the research to take place and each chancellor would have authority over the processes to approve such research. The bill also requires the chancellor to consult with faculty when approving those processes.

A UW System administrative policy relating to the publication of sponsored research currently limits classified research:

No agreement shall be entered into with any extramural sponsor which prohibits the right of a University employe to publish the results of the project. The University and its employes have an obligation to assure that project results are made known to the general public.

PROFS has been actively involved in conversations about AB 729, meeting with several legislators and industry leaders to discuss the proposal as it was developed. Others in the community have also indicated their support.

Tom Still, president of the Wisconsin Technology Council and the Wisconsin Innovation Network, wrote in favor of the bill in yesterday’s Milwaukee Journal Sentinel. Still cites increased research and development funding and partnerships and the expansion of the cybersecurity industry in the state as strong reasons to support the bill.

A public hearing on the bill will be held at 11:05 am today, February 10, in Room 417 North of the State Capitol. PROFS is registered in favor of the bill.

ETA: Livestream coverage of the hearing is available on WisconsinEye.

 

Board of Regents Meeting at UW-Madison Today and Tomorrow

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uw system logoThe University of Wisconsin Board of Regents is meeting at UW-Madison’s Union South today and tomorrow, February 6 and 7. Livestream coverage of the meeting is here.

Regent committees will meet Thursday morning, and UW-Madison Chancellor Rebecca Blank will address the full board at 1:15 pm today. The board will also hear a presentation on the 2015-17 biennial budget process.

Topics to be discussed in the Research, Economic Development and Innovation Committee include UW System’s technology transfer program, UW-Madison’s Discovery to Product (D2P), and UW System’s federal relations efforts.

The Business and Finance Committee will hear a report on adjustments to faculty and staff salaries in 2012-13 and receive an update on the audit of the Human Resources System.

The state’s Legislative Audit Bureau found that HRS continues to have security weaknesses after more than $33 million in overpayments of health insurance premiums and pension contributions were discovered three years ago. Their report is here.

The full board continues its meeting on Friday. Items on the agenda include recognition of UW-Madison’s PEOPLE program and a presentation of UW-Madison’s NCAA Division I Athletics 2012-13 Annual Report.

Regent committee membership and the 2014 meeting schedule is here.

Legislative Update

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Tax Cuts
Governor Scott Walker announced a tax cut proposal at his State of the State address last month. He plans to utilize part of a $912 million budget surplus to lower state income and property taxes. The plan includes:

  • A property tax cut of about $131 on a $150,000 home, Wisconsin’s median home value
  • An income tax cut of $44 to $58 for each tax filer
  • A change in tax policy that would result in the state no longer withholding more income taxes than actually owed, resulting in about $58 more per month per family

The governor’s plan adds $100 million to the state’s rainy day fund, but raises the structural deficit by about $100 million to $725 million at the end of the biennium. Assembly Republicans have indicated strong support for the plan, while Democrats and Senate Republicans have expressed concern.

The legislature is in special session to consider the proposal.

Shared Governance
PROFS continues to lobby to preserve shared governance as described in Chapter 36 of state statutes and UW System Regent policies. Key legislators said they would like to see changes in university governance at a Regent meeting last fall.

Fall Elections
State Senator Dale Schultz (R-Richland Center) announced he will not seek re-election in November. Schultz has been at odds with his Republican Senate colleagues and faced a Republican primary opponent in August.

State Senator Kathleen Vinehout announced last month she will not challenge former Trek executive and Commerce Secretary Mary Burke for the Democratic gubernatorial nomination.

Wisconsin Retirement System
The State of Wisconsin Investment Board (SWIB) announced last month the two funds it manages for the Wisconsin Retirement System (WRS) posted strong gains in 2013, allowing for the first pay increase in five years for annuitants.

PROFS is currently monitoring two bills affecting WRS:

  • Assembly Bill 470 would increase the minimum retirement age by two years. If passed, it would apply to workers 40 and younger.
  • Assembly Bill 471 would calculate benefits based on the five highest earnings periods, a change from the current three-year formula.

Both bills are in committee awaiting a public hearing.

UW System
The University of Wisconsin Board of Regents appointed UW Colleges and UW Extension Chancellor Raymond Cross next president of the University of Wisconsin System. Cross succeeds Kevin Reilly who stepped down in December to take a position with the American Council on Education. UW-Extension Interim Provost and Vice Chancellor Aaron Brower was named Interim Chancellor of UW Colleges and Extension.

Several campuses are in the process of searching for new chancellors – UW-Green Bay, UW-Stout, UW-Oshkosh, and UW-Colleges and Extension.