Thompson pushing new UW programs
System’s interim president seeks budget increase
The head of the University of Wisconsin System will propose its Board of Regents support a 3.5% increase to its 2021-23 state budget in the hope of funding several new initiatives, including a statewide free tuition scholarship program for some Wisconsin students.
The budget request, announced by UW System Interim President Tommy Thompson Tuesday, would increase the system’s upcoming biennial budget by $95.7 million.
Separately, the system’s capital budget request would seek $1.2 billion to renovate 4% of its building space.
“Our mission is to meet the needs of Wisconsin. It is my goal with this budget to renew the Wisconsin Idea for the 21st century by making the University of Wisconsin System more relevant and relatable,” Thompson said.
The requested funding would pay for 10 initiatives, with the statewide extension of UW-Madison’s Bucky’s Tuition Promise as the headlining idea. The scholarship program would cover any outstanding tuition and fees for students after other scholarships and grants are applied through financial aid.
Eligible students must be Wisconsin residents, have an annual household income below $60,000 and be an incoming or transfer student.
Other budget initiatives include potential student loan forgiveness and stipends for student teachers; an increase
in new and expanded online learning options; efforts to generate more revenue from dorms, dining halls and other university land; support for the Freshwater Collaborative of Wisconsin; expanded mental and behavioral health supports; 20 new county-based agriculture positions in the Division of Extension at UW-Madison; and an effort to expand educational opportunity in Wisconsin’s prisons.
The UW System Board of Regents will discuss the proposal Thursday. If approved, it will be forwarded to Gov. Tony Evers for consideration.
“When we asked Tommy Thompson to be UW System president, we expected him to be bold,” said Board of Regents President Andrew Petersen. “This budget reflects his clear-eyed assessment of what we need to do now, and we look forward to helping him renew the Wisconsin Idea.”
Thompson argued investing fully in the UW System is the best way to “grow yourself out of a financial dilemma,” noting the system returns $23 to the state economy for every $1 spent.
“This budget is a bargain,” Thompson said. “We’re going to be able to produce jobs, economic growth, opportunities for the people of the state of Wisconsin. I think the Legislature is going to receive it nicely. And I’m sick and tired of apologizing for the University of Wisconsin. We’re an asset.”
The budget request comes as the UW System and the state grapple with major financial losses due to the COVID-19 pandemic.
In the last fiscal year, the UW System bore the brunt of a $70 million state budget cut, returning $40.7 million in state funding. In late July, Evers announced another $250 million cut for this fiscal year. The UW System will pay back about $69 million.
The UW System has also received aid: $32 million for COVID-19 testing and personal protective equipment and $20 million before that to mitigate financial losses due to the pandemic. The system got $47 million directly from the federal stimulus CARES Act, most of which offset room and board refunds from the cut-short spring semester.
Thompson’s initiatives would not make budget problems go away. He’s attempting to build new priorities, the impact of which will be seen in the long term, if at all.
The budget request does, however, reiterate a system request to be allowed to borrow between $500 million and $1 billion in 2020-21 to offset pandemic-related losses, a request Thompson’s predecessor, Ray Cross, made to the Legislature in June.
Other highlights in the budget document include the continuation of the in-state tuition freeze, which began in 2013 and UW system leaders have long lobbied to have lifted or funded through an increase in state support.
“We know how many families are hurting economically and how many families are without a job,” Thompson said. “We know that students want to come back to the university and we just thought it was not the time to raise tuition or to even bring (the tuition freeze) up.”
The plan also requests the state’s Higher Educational Aids Board put $4.5 million more toward the Wisconsin Grant program over the next two years.
The funding for the Wisconsin Grant remained flat in the last budget cycle despite a growing waitlist of students who need the funding. In the 2019-20 school year, the UW System was short about $2.3 million in funding for the grant.
Evers said in a statement Tuesday that he looks forward to continuing budget discussions and to hearing feedback from the Board of Regents. State Rep. John Nygren, R-Marinette, who co-chairs the Legislature’s Joint Finance Committee, thanked Thompson for his leadership and said he’s looking forward to further discussing details.
Thompson said the overall goal of the budget proposals was to expand access to people across the state. If the initiatives are funded and work, that enrollment growth would be crucial at a time when shrinking classrooms are threatening universities across Wisconsin.
“I want to open up our universities and I want to make sure everybody is able to go to our schools and get a degree, and be able to go out and do whatever they want to do,” Thompson said. “That’s what a college education is all about.”