UW-Madison campus (PHOTO: Jackie Johnson)
A state lawmaker says the list of cuts being made by University of Wisconsin System campuses is deeply concerning.
System officials this week released details on how each campus plans to absorb their share of the $250 million in funding cuts included in the biennial state budget. They include reductions in faculty, larger class sizes, and fewer course offerings on many campuses.
State Senator Dave Hansen (D-Green Bay) said those changes are going to result in students spending more time and money trying to get an education. “With less class offerings, and cuts to faculty, there’s going to be more student debt,” Hansen believes.
The Green Bay Democrat said the cuts marks the continued dismantling of one of the best public universities in the nation. “We’re headed in the wrong direction,” he said. “As quality goes away, student opportunities go away for employment, and the ability to graduate in four years is going to be gone.”
Hansen and other Democrats want full hearings on how campuses are dealing with loss of funding, after the Board of Regents last week dropped plans to discuss them during a meeting in Green Bay. System officials released more details on the cuts earlier this week, and Hansen thinks there should be a legislative hearing to discuss them. “We’ve never had a full discussion on governance, tenure, or the cuts to the university system…and the impact it has on our students,” he said.