UWM administration calls the governor's proposed budget the most positive in years
Robin Van Harpen, UW-Milwaukee’s Vice Chancellor of Finance and Administrative Affairs, said the UWM administration views Governor Scott Walker’s proposed 2013-2015 budget, which includes a $181.4 million increase to the UW System, as a “the most positive governor’s proposed budget that we’ve seen in a number of years.”
“The proposed budget appears to take into account the important role that UWM and other UW System institutions play in educating our Wisconsin residents and ultimately boosting the economy,” Van Harpen said.
The specific amount UWM will receive from the increase is yet to be determined, but the university represents roughly 13 percent of the UW System budget.
At the UW System Board of Regents meeting on March 7, Freda Harris, the UW System’s associate vice president in charge of budget and planning, said the budget could potentially mean the lowest tuition increases in years. Van Harpen agreed, saying that, if the budget passes, UWM students could expect a smaller tuition increase, although that exact amount is still unclear. Â
Van Harpen said a large percentage of the funding would go toward ongoing costs, including increases in utilities and fringe benefits, as well as previously-approved construction and renovation projects and leases.
The budget also sets aside $2 million for the UW Flexible Option, an online degree program that is designed to help working adults continue their education. According to the program’s website, UWM is taking the lead, with four different colleges developing online degree or certificate programs
The College of Nursing will offer both bachelor’s and master’s degrees for registered nurses seeking higher credentials.
The College of Health Sciences will develop a bachelor’s degree in Biomedical Sciences.
The School of Information Studies will offer a bachelor’s degree in Information Science and Technology.
The College of Letters and Science will offer a Certificate in Professional and Technical Communication.
The budget also includes the $20 million Economic Incentive Grant for UW institutions, a new initiative which supports other UW System initiatives that address economic development, the development of a skilled workforce and college affordability for students. Â Â Â Â Â Â Â
A new face for Milwaukee on the lake … but will it mean more jobs?
The city’s Downtown lakefront face is about to change dramatically.
The main intent behind the $34 million expansion project for Lincoln Memorial Drive announced Monday is to create more land for development and allow easier access in and out of one of the city’s most popular areas for both residents and visitors.
The announcement was also intended to set the stage for a dramatic re-envisioning of Milwaukee’s Downtown lakefront area for decades to come…
Continue reading “A new face for Milwaukee on the lake … but will it mean more jobs?” on OnMilwaukee.
Wisconsin's proposed 2013-15 budget includes a big increase for the UW-System, meaning tuition at UWM could go down for the first time since the 2000-01 school year.
Governor Scott Walker proposed a $181.4 million increase in funding to the UW-System over the next two years.
The increase helps assuage the $315 million in cuts to the UW-System from the controversial 2011-12 state budget.
Where the University of Wisconsin-Milwaukee lacks nutritional information on the food served in the Union and its residence halls, the University of Wisconsin-Madison has all the bases covered.
It wasn't without some time and effort that UW-Madison managed to catalogue most of the nutritional information for campus food.
The program then makes the information accessible to students via the university's housing website.Â
"Net Nutrition gets the most hits on our housing website," said Bolduc.
With UW-Madison giving students the option to make more informed choices about what they're eating, the question becomes when UW-Milwaukee will offer its students the same information.
Federal Sequestration to have affect on financial aid
UWM's Department of Financial Aid, Student Employment, and Military Education Benefits sent an email to students informing them of the affects of the Sequestration on student loans.Â
While much of the impact won't be noticed until next year, if you have Direct Subsidized, Direct Unsubsidized or PLUS loans, and those loans have a first dispersement date after March first, fees will increase.
According to the email, most student loans have already dispersed and this will not affect many students.Â
Instead of getting money from the Senate Appropriations Committee like student organizations, REC sports club will now be funded through the Sports Club Allocations Committee. This Committee is funding through segregated fees at $8 per student per semester.Â
The new committee will be composed of the Student Association Treasurer, three members of the SA senate elected by the Senate at a June meeting, four Registered Sport Club Organizations (RSCO) officers and two students at-large appointed through the Shared Governance process.
The SCAC will meet in April to consider the next year's budget request.
Source: Sports Club Allocations Committee bylaws.Â
UW-Milwaukee's REC sports switched from the student organization funding model to a new funding model this week.
The new model better suits the needs of REC sports teams.
Under the new model, all REC sports teams will become part of a new SA committee called the Sports Club Allocations Committee (SCAC). The SCC will act as a committee similar to the Senate Appropriations Committee (SAC), which disperses segregated fee money to student organizations.Â
Northwest Quadrant Parking: How much you pay in segregated fees
                       When UWM bought the Columbia St. Mary's Hospital and transformed it to what we now as the Northwest Quadrant, a fee was tacked on to student segregated fees. Students pay these fees in addition to tuition every semester.Â
2010: No NWQ fee
Fall 2011: $15.10
Spring 2012: $15.10
Fall 2012: $25.60
Spring 2013: $25.60
UWM describes the online course fee as "a special course fee" that depends "on the nature of the program."
It continues: "the College of Letters and Science currently assesses a $275 special course fee for each 3-credit online class; for Sheldon B. Lubar School of Business undergraduate online classes, the additional fee is $300."
 The Fireside Forum on Foreign Policy series ran for a second time this year. Just like last year, it attracted a small number of people who seemed intensely interested in the topic and who came in with lots of knowledge.
Doug Savage, who organizes the series, said that this year’s forums were different in part because of the election cycle. Last year the forums took place during a presidential election, while this year the series ran in the middle of Obama’s second term.
“It’s a very fluid set of issues, and so you know it’s hard to predict what it will look like next year,” Savage said. “But you know there’s always something that deserves public attention.”
Larry Kress attended the series last year.  ”She didn’t change any of my opinions, but she gave me a little better insight,” he said.
Carla Freeman, Tuesday’s speaker, has strong ties to Milwaukee and used to live here for a while. She came because of how much she likes the audience that comes to the Forums and enjoys talking about American relations with China.
“I tried to make a case for why there was a strong logic for us turning toward Asia in American policies,” Freeman said. “But how we had to manage that policy carefully so that it served our interests and didn’t get us involved in some of the complicated flash-points in the region.”
Larry Kress attended the series last year.  ”She didn’t change any of my opinions, but she gave me a little better insight,” Kress said.
Carla Freeman, Tuesday’s speaker, has strong ties to Milwaukee and used to live here for a while. She came because of how much she likes the audience that comes to the Forums and enjoys talking about American relations with China.
“I tried to make a case for why there was a strong logic for us turning toward Asia in American policies,” Freeman said. “But how we had to manage that policy carefully so that it served our interests and didn’t get us involved in some of the complicated flash-points in the region.”
