The Original Problem & Need

Over the past 30 years, state support for UW-Madison has decreased

• 1.5% per year in constant dollars
• $430 to $268 million

This has resulted in further decreased access

Rapid changes in technology present new challenges for educating engineers to compete nationally and globally.

• Limited access to required courses and delays in degree completion
• Faculty has decreased more than 10% over the past 12 years
• Staff has decreased by 14 positions over the past 5 years
• Fewer engineering labs
• Limited design experiences
• Reduced shop access and hands-on learning opportunities
• Student services (SLC, Wendt Library, CAE, others)

Original Proposal

• Engineering Specific Tuition – $700
• To be phased in over three years
  • $300/semester, $500/semester, $700/semester
• Applies only to students within a CoE Major
• When fully implemented will increase instructional spending by 7%
  • The minimum to make a difference on needs
  • Allows adding new courses/sections
• Improve student resources
• $3 million generated to go towards
  • Instruction-Academic Departments
  • Academic Support Services

Funding Breakdown

• Funds are planned to be distributed to the following areas
• New faculty (50%)
• Shop and Undergraduate Labs (20%)
• Student Services (15%)
• New Programs and Curricula Innovations (15%)

Benefits

Access

1. Reduce required-course bottlenecks and time to degree
2. Increase funds for shop and hands-on laboratory experiences
3. Increase professional development (leadership, international experiences)
4. Maintain program quality and the value of the University of Wisconsin – Madison degree!!
5. More, better educated engineers for state economy
6. Increased access to resources for those within the College of Engineering
7. Reduced time to degree = increased educational efficiency