(WTAQ-WLUK) — University of Wisconsin System leaders insist that students are being shielded from layoffs and other cuts UW-Oshkosh is making to address an $18 million budget shortfall.
System president Jay Rothman said the Oshkosh campus is not alone. Budget scrutiny has been going on for several months across the state.
“We had 10 of our 13 universities that, at that point in time, were running structural deficits. Under our strategic plan, our goal is to eliminate those structural deficits going forward. Each of the universities is in a unique situation, depending on its reserve situation, regarding its enrollment trends. So what UW-Oshkosh did is not necessarily actions that other institutions will have to take.”
Rothman said UWO had some “particular factors” which made its situation “more challenging.” But he would not compare UWO to other schools to say if it is the worst-off of the campuses, saying each school has its own circumstances. Rothman wouldn’t say if more announcements like Thursday’s should be expected around the state.
After the merger of the two-year and four-year campus systems in 2018, each of the four-year schools, except for Madison, operates the nearby two-year schools. UW-Oshkosh runs the campuses in Menasha and Fond du Lac, while UW-Green Bay manages the centers in Marinette, Manitowoc, and Sheboygan.
As part of its budget situation, UW-Platteville decided to close the campus in Richland Center, drawing criticism from lawmakers and others. Rothman says such action remains on the table elsewhere.
“I have asked the chancellors who have responsibilities for branch campuses to undertake an assessment of each of those, looking at enrollment trends, looking at needs in the community. We’re in the process of discussing what they’re coming up with in terms of their assessments and evaluations of those institutions. We haven’t made decisions yet but those will be coming down the line as we move forward.”
While there is no single answer for the budget woes, the dropping rate of the number of high school students who attend college is a key concern and needs to be increased.
“That is not good for the long-term economic vibrancy of the state. We are continually evolving into a technology-driven, knowledge economy, where those four-years degrees and that graduate degrees are going to be absolutely essential to building the economic foundation of this state.”
One of the longstanding traditions for the University of Wisconsin is the Wisconsin Idea, which says that education goes beyond the classroom and into the daily lives of residents across the state. Given the budget woes and other issues, Rothman was asked if The Wisconsin Idea is in jeopardy.
“No, not at all. The Wisconsin Idea is alive and well. We are educating 161,000 students every year. We have 37,000 graduates of our institutions every year. We are absolutely essential to the state of Wisconsin and its long-term economic vibrancy. You talk about the worker shortages in this state of highly-educated people. We need more engineers. We need more nurses. We need more data scientists and computer scientists. We need more business and finance people. And that list goes on and on. If we don’t fill those jobs in this state, those jobs are going to go somewhere else. So our mission is absolutely critical to the long-term viability of the state of Wisconsin. The Wisconsin Idea is not dead. It is flourishing.”
Rothman said a long-term view should be used when examining the decisions being made.
“That’s really the point in all of this, is to ensure our universities are well-positioned to continue to serve the students and the state of Wisconsin well.”
UW-Oshkosh plans to announce the first furloughs starting next months, and layoff announcements after that.
At this point, no academic programs are on the chopping block.
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