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The 128-acre campus swarms each semester with about 1,100 employees and 9,000 students, about 3,000 of whom also call it home while attending school.
UW-L is seeking permission to enroll another 1,000 students during the next decade. It also is asking regents to set different tuition rates than other UW System schools, increasing in-state tuition and lowering nonresident tuition from its current level.
The 10,000 students could represent a more diverse population and allow students who otherwise would have been shut out to attend. But they also could bring growing pains.
Money raised by the plan — about $15 million annually — would fund 130 additional faculty and staff, plus provide financial aid for students from low-income families.
Administrators believe with careful planning the proposal will enhance education at UW-L. Others, however, still have questions about it.
Where will these students live, Student Association President Ryan VanLoo wondered, considering UW-L’s plans to tear down two residence halls.
What is the breakdown between how many faculty and support staff will be hired, asked Faculty Senate Chairwoman Carmen Wilson.
And Charley Weeth, organizer of the Grandview-Emerson Neighborhood Association, wonders where more people will park when residential streets near campus already are lined with vehicles daily during the school year.
The UW-L growth and access plan
The proposal treats UW-L like a business, Interim Chancellor Elizabeth Hitch said.
Students are demanding a product — a UW-L education. The university wants to provide that product to more than the 8,600 students expected this fall, but it can’t rely on state dollars to expand, Hitch said.
The pilot program would do the following:
“Is it larger than we’ve ever been? Yes,” said Vice Chancellor of Administration and Finance Ron Lostetter. “Is it hugely larger than we’ve ever been? No, but it will be noticeable.”
The Board of Regents will consider UW-L’s plan in August, along with at least 15 proposed plans from other UW schools. All are in response to a call from UW System President Kevin Reilly to increase the number of degree holders in Wisconsin in hopes of keeping the state economically competitive.
Only 25.6 percent of Wisconsin residents older than 25 have a bachelor’s degree, below the national average of 28 percent, according to 2004 U.S. Census estimates.
“Everyone is saying we need more baccalaureate degree holders,” said area attorney and UW Regent Brent Smith. “It’s how we get there. We need the resources to do it. You can’t say, ‘Graduate another 20,000, but keep your budgets the same.’”
The goal could be difficult to achieve when looking at Wisconsin’s higher education environment, said Joe Heim, UW-L political science professor. UW System figures say the state provided $1.03 billion of its $3.1 billion budget in 2000-01, but only $991 million of its $4.1 billion budget in 2005-06.
UW-L has received $6.3 million less in state funding when comparing those academic years, Lostetter said. At the same time, tuition increased 63 percent for students and UW-L had a net loss of about 70 staff positions. Enrollment was purposely decreased during the past few years, making UW-L harder to get into — with low-income students taking the biggest hit.
The nonresident student population declined after the state added a 5 percent surcharge for out-of-state students in 2001. Nonresidents usually pay two to three times more than resident students.
Campus concerns
Most of the growth plans from the UW campuses propose increasing state funding to increase enrollment. UW-L’s plan does not, but it hinges on more than just state approval.
A new academic building would be needed to provide additional classroom space. If approved, that space would be made by taking down two residence halls with a combined 400 student beds. Because UW-L has no plans to build new on-campus residence halls, the community would have to shelter more students.
Several area developers have expressed interest in providing off-campus housing west of campus that would be managed by UW-L residence life staff, Lostetter said.
Steve Nicolai, president of the La Crosse Area Apartment Association, said some developers have talked of building complexes that could house up to 100 students. He said existing housing has space as well, and landlords would welcome the growth.
But both the growth proposal and money for the academic building must be in the 2007-09 biennial budget, and some faculty wonder how the university can plan when so many aspects of the proposal are undecided.
Heim said there’s not a lack of campus support for the plan as much as demand for more details. While he finds it innovative, Heim is concerned higher tuition will sink students further in debt. UW-L data reports that nearly 70 percent of students graduate with loans; the average debt is $13,948.
Pat Karpinsky, a nurse practitioner in the UW-L Student Health Center and chairwoman of the academic staff council, said student services would need to be beefed up as well, especially for mental health issues.
Increased enrollment could mean UW-L accepts students who aren’t as prepared as current students are and would require extra assistance, Wilson said.
Becky LeDocq, associate math professor and conveyor of the committee on academic polices and standards, said her department had 1,000 students waiting to get a general education math class during spring semester. Associate professor of chemistry Sandy Grunwald said science labs run from Monday through Friday, with some going as late as 9 p.m.
Increased teaching loads and bigger classes are more common after five fiscally tight years, Wilson said, making it harder to do service work for the university or provide in-depth feedback to students.
“Faculty are willing to step up,” she said. “But there is a breaking point, and we’re approaching that.”
While VanLoo understands how the plan would work and even thinks students will pay higher tuition to attend the UW-L, he, Student Association Vice President Bree Hanson and graduate student A.J. Clauss are concerned the proposal could shut out middle-class students.
They also are unsure whether students will live off-campus with housing staff on premises.
Community support
Community response has been more enthusiastic. As long as the university keeps communication channels open, community leaders stressed, many think the plan will improve La Crosse.
“If you look at it as an opportunity instead of a problem, then you can handle it,” said Dick Granchalek, president of the La Crosse Area Chamber of Commerce.
The additional students and faculty would provide 1,100 new consumers for the region. Faculty and staff hopefully will plant roots in the community, buying houses and sending their children to area schools.
“Millions of dollars in revenue will be generated by the implementation of this plan,” said Bud Miyamoto, executive director of Downtown Mainstreet Inc.
La Crosse Mayor Mark Johnsrud doesn’t foresee the costs or size of city services increasing if UW-L’s enrollment went up, noting the population previously has been above 9,000 students.
Weeth said those living near the university are pro-UW-L but want reassurance their concerns will be heard. Besides parking and traffic, residents are worried more single-family homes will be converted to rentals.
District 8 Common Council member Dorothy Lenard, who also lives near UW-L and is on the city’s alcohol oversight committee, said city inspectors can make sure rentals are up to standard and work with UW-L on issues such as underage drinking.
Bruce Johnson, general manager at Valley View Mall, said the effect would be stronger if all 1,000 students came at the same time but thinks any increase could be beneficial.
The extra enrollment also will enhance the local work force: Johnson, grocery store owner Phil Quillin and David Buroker, region human resources manager for CenturyTel, noted those 1,000 students could find part-time work at businesses like theirs.
Future uncertain
If approved, tuition increases would be the first step, probably in 2008-09. Reilly thinks UW-L’s proposal is an “interesting, out-of-the-box kind of plan” that plays to the school’s strengths and is “as good as every other campuses’ plan.” But he stopped short of saying whether he thought it would get a thumbs up from regents.
He did stress that there will be negative effects if college access isn’t expanded. The state’s per capita income level — $33,565 in 2005 — could continue to slip further below the $34,586 national average. Without a well-trained work force, Wisconsin can’t attract or retain businesses, and the migration of skilled and educated people to states with better economic outlooks will continue, he said.
Smith and Hitch are more optimistic about regent approval. While Smith is concerned about increasing tuition, he said the plan calls for more financial aid and thinks the idea of expanding access without additional state funding will work in UW-L’s favor.
Regents approved a complimentary piece of the plan this year when they lowered tuition for nonresident students to about $12,000.
Hitch knows the proposal hinges on a lot of “what ifs,” but promised careful planning and open communication as it evolves.
And she doesn’t want to think about what happens if the plan isn’t approved. Enrollment won’t increase. The burden on faculty will grow. Programs could be cut.
“We’ve had enough years of doing that,” Hitch said. “We want to go in the other direction.”
What’s next?
The final stamp of approval for the growth and access plan proposed by the University of Wisconsin-La Crosse may not come until late June 2007 — that is, if it clears all the hurdles lining up in front of it.
The first stop for the plan is the UW Board of Regents. The
17-member board will discuss UW-L’s plan, along with other growth and access plans proposed by some of the 13 four-year and 13 two-year UW campuses, during a special meeting Aug. 2 in Madison. The regents are scheduled to vote on the various
proposals during their regular meeting Aug. 17 and 18. Those approved will be included in the UW System’s 2007-09 biennial budget request.
Those proposals then must be included in the governor’s budget proposal, which typically is announced in late January or early February. State lawmakers must give a thumbs-up to the plan as well, and the governor must then sign it into law, which usually happens in late June.
If the plan is approved at all levels, the earliest it could be implemented is for 2008-09.
Even though UW-L’s plan does not require additional state dollars, UW System President Kevin Reilly said it has to go through the budgetary process because state law requires legislative approval for a government entity to collect revenue outside of the money provided to them by the state.
Kate Schott can be reached at Kate.Schott@lacrossetribune.com or (608) 791-8226.
