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Q. What is the “growth and access” plan?
A. The cornerstones of our 2007-09 budget request are academic quality enhancement for all UW-L students; increased opportunities to attend UW-L, especially for students from families from the lower two economic quintiles and for students of color; and increased access to and graduation from UW-L for more Wisconsin students. The plan is a pilot tuition management program that would allow the campus to generate the money needed to achieve these important outcomes.
During the 10-year pilot program, students at UW-L would pay $660 more per semester than the tuition rate set by the Board of Regents for the other comprehensive institutions. (The new tuition rate for UW-L, by the way, will continue to be a lower tuition than that paid by students attending UW-Milwaukee or UW-Madison.) UW-L would retain the tuition and invest it to achieve some critical objectives.
Q. What are these critical objectives?
A. 1) Enhance our current level of academic excellence. By any measure, UW-L is a great place to get a college education. UW-L has a retention rate of 90 percent and a graduation rate of 64.7 percent. Both are considerably higher than the national averages. Why does UW-L do so well in retaining and graduating students? In two words, our faculty and staff. Research shows that the most critical factor in a student remaining at an institution of higher education through graduation is that student making a personal connection with someone at the institution.
2) Add approximately 100 more faculty and 33 more staff. These new employees enhance the educational experience for all students and maintain or enhance our already impressive record of retaining and graduating students. The number of applications to attend UW-L has steadily increased to the point where UW-L received more than 6,682 applications for the 1,750 slots available in the freshman class beginning this fall. UW-L has a national reputation and, for 2006-07, ranks third in the U.S. News and World Report ranking of Midwest comprehensive master’s degree institutions.
3) Enroll more resident and nonresident students. The plan calls for gradually increasing each year until we achieve 1,000 more students than we presently have — an increase in the student body from 9,100 to 10,077. Nonresident students are an important part of the mix. More nonresident students paying higher tuition means greater access for Wisconsin residents.
4) Increase the number of baccalaureate and advanced degrees awarded. Assuming UW-L maintains its six-year graduation rate of 64.7 percent, there will be more graduates per year from UW-L with the majority of these being state residents.
5) Continue to increase the diversity of the campus community. UW-L has about 500 students of color. When taken as a percentage of our total student population, our profile does not even match the diversity of the state of Wisconsin. Employers tell us that they need students who can work in a diverse environment and they are more likely to employ graduates with a track record of working with people from all backgrounds.
6) Create more access to low-income students. Our goal is to move access from the two lower economic quintiles at UW-L to the system average for state residents. The pilot program will provide $3.8 million in aid that can assist highly qualified students of limited means.
Q. What impact will this have on La Crosse and the area?
A. The biggest impact will be an economic one. In simple terms, 1,000 more students and the additional faculty and staff to serve them will create $20 million to $25 million dollars beyond the $250 million impact that UW-L currently has on La Crosse and the region. Increasing enrollment by 1,000 students will mean increased access for students in La Crosse and surrounding communities.
Q. Won’t this additional number of students “flood” the area?
A. Our conversations with local developers indicate they are very interested in bidding for the opportunity to provide off-campus housing they will build and lease back to the university. UW-L will manage this housing, just as it would for one of its on-campus residence halls.
Q. Why doesn’t UW-L just get the money it needs from the state? Why should students and parents have to pay more?
A. Over the past several budget periods, UW-L has lost more than $6.3 million in state aid. Only 27 percent of the UW-L budget is paid by state taxpayer dollars, and this is down from
40 percent just a decade ago.
UW-L was faced with either downsizing or thinking creatively about how to solve its own problem. While $660 more per semester in tuition is certainly not a “drop in the bucket” in any of our personal budgets, it is less than most students pay per semester for books (a cost which is only $74 per semester at UW-L, where students rent their books).
So, the bottom line is that, for this investment, more students will experience the excellent instruction and activities that are hallmarks of UW-L and lead to a better educated citizenry and better employees for our region and state. For more information see www.uwlax.edu/af/growthandaccess.htm.
Elizabeth J. Hitch is interim chancellor of UW-La Crosse.
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