University of Wisconsin-Madison
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SOAR Issue 2014
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SOAR ISSUE
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Walker plans tuition freeze extension Gov. Scott Walker announced in an April 2014 statement he would include a two-year extension of the University of Wisconsin System’s current tuition freeze in his 2015 budget proposal, pending his re-election. In 2013, the state legislature passed a budget recommended by the governor that included the first tuition freeze in the UW System’s history. The idea for a freeze came about after a government audit found the UW System had a $1 billion projected budget surplus. The initial freeze was originally designed to cover only in-state students, but was later extended to outof-state students.
Walker said in the statement continuing the freeze two additional years would help improve college affordability. “After years of tuition hikes, it is important to give our students and their families a break,” Walker said in the statement. “Our proposed second two-year tuition freeze will go a long way to helping working families and students have access to higher education. A UW System response clarified that most of its $1 billion program revenues are committed to expenses already. Only 3 percent of the total funds are without “specific, documented plans,” according to the statement. UW System President Ray
Cross said in the statement he remains committed to college affordability and stressed that tuition among UW schools is currently lower than comparable schools. “We will continue to work with the governor and the Legislature to meet our shared goal of delivering value to the state of Wisconsin,” Cross said in the statement. “I intend to work vigorously to find a reasonable solution. I am confident that we can get the best budget possible for the university.” If re-elected, Walker must submit his budget proposal to the state Legislature for passage next year. —Andrew Hahn
JANE THOMPSON/CARDINAL FILE PHOTO
Gov. Scott Walker announced a planned extension to the UW System’s tuition freeze as part of his 2015 budget proposal.
UW to launch new Sustainability Certificate in the fall By Adelina Yankova THE DAILY CARDINAL
Environmentally conscious students at the University of Wisconsin-Madison will have a new opportunity to get credentials for their passion when the university launches its Sustainability Certificate program this fall. The certificate, which is a collaboration between the UW-Madison Office of Sustainability and the Nelson Institute for Environmental Studies, will consist of 12 credits
and include a capstone project focused on solving an existing sustainability issue on campus. While most universities provide students with the opportunity to pursue minors, UW-Madison instead offers certificate programs that serve a similar purpose. As part of the new certificate, students will select from a list of integrative “literacy courses” designed to teach the basic principles of sustainability, Nelson Institute Director Paul Robbins said.
Office of Sustainability Co-Director Craig Benson said these courses will provide students with various skill sets in the field of sustainability and include hands-on learning about subjects such as energy consumption and emissions on campus. While enrollment will be capped at 100 for its pilot semester, the certificate will be offered to students in all UW-Madison schools and colleges regardless of major. “That’s the beauty of it. It’s not for Nelson Institute stu-
dents or engineering students or CALS students,” Benson said. “It’s for everybody and sustainability solutions are very much interdisciplinary. They require people from different areas to bring their expertise to the problem.” Robbins said the program was developed in part to advance the Office of Sustainability’s mission to link students and education and research with campus facilities. “This is part of [a] national recognition that the university–
as a sustainable place to be and to learn and to go to work–is core to the mission,” Robbins said. Benson said it is also important to think globally when considering changes in the environment. “[Sustainability is] really important right now ... as we look at these pressures that we’re seeing in our society due to growth,” Benson explained. “When we look at the strain that’s putting on our resources, our planet, our climate, we need to get ahead of these problems before they become problems that we can’t deal with.”
“…the great state University of Wisconsin should ever encourage that continual and fearless sifting and winnowing by which alone the truth can be found.”