The Center for American Progress released a report (below) Monday calling for a renewed social compact between states and their institutions of higher education. The report illustrates how the Great Recession resulted in a disinvestment in public higher education, directly resulting in large tuition increases.
Comparing its recommendations to those of the Truman Commission on Higher Education in 1947, the center argues the federal government should offer incentives to states that enroll students receiving Pell Grants or benefits from the G.I. Bill. In particular, states should reach out to low- and middle-income students to ensure access to higher education, while addressing the burden of student debt.
How Wisconsin Fared
The report found from 2008 to 2012 public higher education funding per student in the state fell 18 percent, while overall higher education spending dropped 8 percent. In 2012, state funding per student in Wisconsin was $4,439, the lowest of all Midwestern states with the exception of Michigan.
A Great Recession, a Great Retreat: A Call for a Public College Quality Compact by Center for American Progress
Alumni for Wisconsin, the advocacy group of the Wisconsin Alumni Association, will meet at the Pyle Center, 702 Langdon Street on Saturday, November 15. The meeting will begin three hours before the kick-off of the Wisconsin-Nebraska football game, which has not yet been announced.
Chancellor Rebecca Blank will offer her perspective on UW-Madison and the upcoming state budget process. The extension of a tuition freeze coupled with declining state support has forced UW-Madison to examine its budget priorities. This post-election meeting will be among the first conversations about how the university may fare in 2015 and beyond.
Faculty are encouraged to attend this free event. The meeting will be followed by a tailgate luncheon (reservation and fee required). More information here.
The Milwaukee Journal Sentinel is offering its opinion on key issues in the gubernatorial race, and K-12 and higher education is the focus of today’s editorial.
The editorial board writes that a tuition freeze is politically popular, but ultimately can harm the university:
. . . the fact is that such a continued freeze could hurt the system’s ability to attract and retain faculty. UW schools are a bargain, with average costs, and quality doesn’t come cheap.
The Journal Sentinel maintains the state should eliminate the tuition freeze while improving funding for UW System.
Voters in Wisconsin may begin in-person absentee voting today, Monday, October 20. Polls in Madison will be open from 8 am until 7 pm Monday through Friday, October 20 through 24 and October 27 through 31. All balloting must be completed in the municipal clerk’s office. More information on early voting is here.
The University of Wisconsin Department of Political Science is sponsoring a panel discussion on polling in the hotly-contested Wisconsin gubernatorial race at 3 pm, Monday, October 20 in the Pyle Center, 702 Langdon Street. The panel will discuss the accuracy of polls and what we can learn from them.
Panelists include:
This event, which is free and open to the public, is cosponsored by The Capital Times.
