Investigative Story-
$15.68 million has been cut from the UW-L budget in
the last 13 years, representing the lack of overall state support within the UW
system. The over half a billion dollars cut from the UW system budget in 13
years demonstrates a trend that has been occurring over the past 30 years on a
national scale.
State budget decisions cause partisan conflict
across the country. “It doesn’t matter, we’ve had
legislators and governors from both sides of the aisle. It’s the same in other
states. It’s not that they’re mean people, they just have other priorities,”
says Vice Chancellor for Administration and Finance Bob Hetzel about the
difference of political priorities.
There are federal mandates that require states to
prioritize things such as Medicaid, prison facilities, and infrastructure in
their budgets. Once the main concerns are accounted for, states then focus on
K-12 education over public universities. Hetzel says, “You
can’t charge a prisoner tuition, or a kindergartener, but you can charge a
college student the cost of education.”
The budget cuts have impacted the cost of student’s
tuition, faculty size, and the overall abilities of the university. Over the
past 13 years, UW-L last lost 78 positions, 70 of these positions being
faculty. To offset the cuts, UW-L increased students’ tuition by $1,000 per
academic year in a 2007 referendum. Since the tuition increase, UW-L hired 165
new faculty and 35 new staff members to increase “growth, availability, and
accessibility.” UW-L wants the quality of learning to remain important.
In addition to UW-L, the 25 other state institutions
are feeling the effects of the budget cuts. A few institutions, such as
UW-Madison, also increased their tuition to counter the cuts. However,
UW-Superior and UW-Parkside are experiencing rapid declines in enrollment
declines and are seeking a $1 million loan from the UW system to avoid
bankruptcy.
In 2013, Wisconsin Legislature
enacted a two-year tuition freeze after the UW system revealed more than $600
million in reserves. On April 11, 2014 Governor Walker proposed freezing the
tuition for an additional two years due to projections showing that the UW
System still expects more than $1 billion in cash balances in June. Before the
freeze, tuition had risen 5.6 percent or more every year for 10 years. Despite
the freeze, holding tuition costs is not the solution to the overarching
problem. Costs continue to increase in other areas than tuition, such as
heating and cooling costs. Hetzel does not foresee a turn around for the UW
System educational budget. “It’s a spiral that’s gotten out of control. It’s
daunting and it’s to take a long time to recover.”
Tuition increases and total costs go beyond
inflation due to the budget cuts on a national scale. In 1973, total cost for a
four-year public institution was $2,710. Presently, the average total cost in
2013-14 is $18,391. In addition, the balance between what students pay and what
the state covers has drastically shifted. In the 2013 financial year, state
support only accounted for about 14% of total costs at UW-L, making student
support about 86%.
UW-L alumni Nancy and Scott Bakkum have three
children, two currently attending universities and one a recent graduate. “It
worries us that our children are paying over 10 times the amount of tuition
that we did 25 years ago. The worry of larger debts coupled with less job
availability is our biggest fear for them,” says Nancy. Scott Bakkum graduated
from UW-L in December of 1982 with debt for a $10,000 loan. The average student
loan debt for the class of 2012 was $29,400,
according to a report released in April by the Institute for College Access
& Success' Project on Student Debt.
The chain reaction between budget
cuts and tuition increases is causing most students to rely on loans. The
amount students are able to borrow depends on the total costs of the university
or college, making a need for greater financial aid. UW-L Professor Thomas
Pribek speculates that the trend in budget cuts is being encouraged by the
availability of borrowing financial aid. “It’s easier to increase tuition if
you can automatically borrow,” says Pribek.
Current UW-L students are
conscious of expense of college. Sophomore UW-L student Jared Karis says, “You
are paying for a stressful time in your life, but I can’t imagine not going to
school.” Students continue to attend college regardless the increasing costs.
According the Bureau of Labor Statistics, 68.3% of students who graduated high
school in 2011 were enrolled in college.
