Posted: 12.27.2011

A letter has been circulated to all employees of the UW system - alerting them to more, deep cuts in their budget structure.

In the letter, employees were asked to prepare for another $65 million cut if the Joint Finance Committee (JFC) doesn’t act by January 3.  Without action -  the UW System will face a $65 million budget cut on top of the $250 million cut that we received in the budget - potentially the biggest cut in UW history.

Employees were directed to remind legislators that the UW System was assigned 38% of the state’s total lapse amount, although the System receives only 7% of the state budget. The UW System is willing to pay its fair share of the lapse but the size of this cut will place a disproportionate burden on the students and clients we serve.

Rosemary Potter, Director, Government Relations UW Colleges & UW-Extension, authored the letter with 12 ways the lapse could hurt everyone served by UW-Extension

1. Program staff who support education for small business and entrepreneurs may be laid off, which will reduce the ability to develop needed programs and make it harder for small businesses to create jobs.

2. Small business development centers may not be able to hire the counselors they need to help small business and entrepreneurs grow jobs.

3. Small business development centers may have to reduce their programs for small business and classes for entrepreneurs.

4. Continuing education outreach efforts may be curtailed, which will mean fewer degrees awarded in Wisconsin and fewer opportunities for nontraditional and minority students to get an education. This has been a key strategy to improving Wisconsin’s economic competitiveness.

5. The development of online and technology based instruction will be delayed. These programs prepare students for high demand jobs in the emerging economy.

6. UW-Extension county office staff positions will be left vacant, which reduces service to agriculture, families and local governments.

7. There may be more use of short term UW-Extension staff in multiple-county coverage, which will reduce their availability to serve local needs.

8. Cuts funding for researchers and faculty at UW campuses, which will delay research needed by Wisconsin agriculture and business to stay competitive.

9. Delays needed equipment and software maintenance at Wisconsin Public Television and Wisconsin Public Radio, which may result in reduced reliability.

10. The provision of statewide video conferencing services will be slowed, which may result in higher costs for travel and staff time.

11. Web development positions will be left vacant, which will delay online programming development that is important to younger audiences.

12. Wisconsin Public Television will delay the launch of the successor program to In Wisconsin which was recently discontinued. Other programming will also be deferred.

12 ways the lapse could hurt everyone served by UW Colleges

1. Class sections may be cut, which could make it more difficult for students to complete their course requirements. Students would face a longer time in school, higher costs and higher risk of dropping out.

2. Reduced tutoring services would damage student learning and retention.

3. Cutting library acquisitions of periodicals and online databases would cause long-term harm to the ability of teachers to teach and students to learn.

4. Technology infrastructure upgrades to the telephone system and network servers would be delayed, resulting in a backlog of work and higher costs in the future.

5. Technology upgrades in student computer labs and the library would be postponed, reducing student access to technology-based learning and possible higher costs to catch up in the future.

6. Hiring of academic support positions could be delayed. This would damage recruitment and retention efforts, and would inevitably affect enrollment.

7. Professional development funding for faculty could be cut, which would make it more difficult to retain faculty because we cannot reinvest in their professional and technical knowledge.

8. Needed laboratory modernization would be cut or delayed. Delaying replacement of laboratory technology and equipment hurts student learning opportunities and stifles innovation.

9. Development of high-demand new courses, such as GIS (geographical information system), would be delayed. GIS is a high-demand area and the course is needed to serve students and employers.

10. Campus newspapers could be eliminated, closing off an important area of learning, instruction, and employment for students.

11. Needed student services and custodian positions would remain unfilled, thus reducing services to students.

12. New course development would be delayed. Course development helps keep up with innovation, meets evolving student needs, and responds to local demands.

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