Budget Feedback Received via Email ( budgetfeedback@uwplatt.edu
)
Standard reply if no questions were asked that could be answered by budget office: Thank you for your input. Your feedback will be included in a summary document located at https://www.uwplatt.edu/budget/budget-reduction-
planning.
If questions were asked that could not be answered by the budget office, the email was forwarded to Cathy Riedl-
Farrey and Rob Cramer for their input prior to responding to the sender.
Student Responses/Questions:
12/15/14: Hello. On the issue of the budget, I think the ITS department has been given too free of a reign. I hear many complaints from professors about ITS's failure to respond in a prompt manner to maintenance requests especially in Otts. For my part it is very disgruntling to see ITS take up the entire first floor of Karrmann, a move that effectively wiped out a great study space, and which to this day I still here negative comments about from many students. The cost of this new space must have been several hundred thousand, and it is still unclear to me what was wrong with their old space. The Bears den received all new PC's this summer, and yet I saw nothing wrong with the systems that were already in place, what was the need for new chairs, and for the elimination of two rows of computer tables? It would seem to me that the ITS department has gone wildly out of control in spending, not even addressing some of the major
ITS issues on campus (old worn out printers and broken computers). Thank you for your time.
12/16/14: You should have the open forums in February when the students are actually here.
1/24/15: I have a possible solution to help with UWP budget shortfalls. I believe UWP could grow its enrollment at a lower cost by making it easier to live off-campus. It costs money for the university to build and maintain new housing. So if UWP made it easier to live off campus, then the dorm housing would have much less growing pains. Instead, these growing pains would spread among the landlords of Platteville.
I do have a couple of possible options for doing this. First, you could make more exceptions to who lives off campus. You could let the academically gifted, or overflow students live off campus. You could also hire a lawyer to help students not get screwed over by their leases. You could also let freshman or sophomores move off campus by paying a substantial fee.
1/25/15: As a mechanical engineering student and dining services employee at University of
Wisconsin - Platteville for the last 5 years, it is safe to say I've seen quite a few changes on campus during my stay. Here are some of my thoughts:
1
Updated 1/27/2015

First off, to me it seems there is a large gap between the budgets for what we as a university NEED and WANT. For example, what function does renovating the computer labs in
Ottensman Hall serve besides making them look more appealing to the common campus tourist? The reality is that most of my engineering courses end up utilizing lab equipment older than I am in rooms that probably haven't been updated since their inception. UW-Platteville's engineering programs (the campuses most known and popular majors mind you) pride themselves on being more hands-on than other comparative programs elsewhere, and I have strong feelings that some of this is being overlooked. The PACCE program funds the senior design course, which is probably the single most important course to apply our knowledge in a hands-on manner with community partners. Making cuts into such a program seems as though we are trying to remove some of the core values for what our engineering programs are known for. There has been a lot of money spent in renovation that does not benefit my education in the slightest; one could even argue it's actually hurting my education from the opportunity cost of where that money could have been spent (that of which I have multiple examples of). I'm all for improving the look and appeal of study areas when it is affordable to do so, but it is not a
NEED. It is a WANT and could easily have been cut. There are many places on campus where this same logic applies.
Secondly, from a university student employee standpoint how much emphasis is put on hiring students that are eligible for work-study? From my understanding, hiring students who are eligible for work-study is cheaper for the university as the federal government covers a certain amount of their wages. Depending on the job requirements, cost saving could be made by hiring only those who are eligible for this like they do at the Karrmann library. On a similar note,
I believe we have one of the largest ITS departments out of any of the UW campuses, and far from the most efficient. I'm still uncertain as to how that makes sense considering we are far from the largest or most intricate UW campus; worth looking into regardless.
1/25/15: I am a junior at UW-Platteville and have lived in the area my whole life. I feel
Platteville have wasted a lot of money throughout the years.
First, ITS, they have a whole new office space they didn't need. They are still not keeping maintenance problems around campus. With the new computers in the Bears Den in the start of the school not all the computers had printers installed. So if I needed to print something it was a guessing game. Also with moving ITS, it meant nobody in the Bears den all the time so when you have printer problems you have to wait at least half an hour for someone to come over to fix after you call them.
2
Updated 1/27/2015

Secondly, the school mascot and naming of the new mascot seemed to waste money. Pioneer
Pete custom had to cost a lot we didn't need a mascot what is wrong with keeping the mascot/tradition in mining that is what Platteville was known for before University of
Wisconsin-Platteville was here. Another thing Pioneer Pete got a golf cart this year. How much did that cost the school? Why does he need it? Is he too lazy to walk?
Thirdly, with the tornado this past summer I thought we wasted money and showed off more about the campus being hit then worrying about the students. The three new resident halls had student stuff in the rooms they lived in the past semester which cost the students $175 to keep their stuff there. The students that had things wreck during the storm would have to go out and buy all new things then show the university the receipt from the purchase to be refunded. As a college student we don't have a lot of money seating around and usually live pay check to pay check. Instead of interviewing with the new channels or tv why didn't you step up and help the students out.
Platteville waste so much money that we don't need instead of thinking about it. Now you want to get rid of a GREAT PROGRAM that benefits the students. The PACCE Projects that I have participated in and watched my classmates do have further our education without the projects we wouldn't have learn what we know today. PACCE is an Amazon department and without them the students will not be able to further our education and that is why we are here. I am not here to pay for Pioneer Pete's golf cart. The university needs to listen to the students.
1/25/15: As a junior at the University of Wisconsin-Platteville, I would like to show my concern of eliminating print-based courses. I believe they are a great asset to the students. There are students who enroll at UWP to strictly take and complete courses through print-based. Since there are many classes that are not offered every semester, print-based courses are there to fall back on if a class needs to be taken a semester when the class is not offered. Speaking from experience, I have had to take print based courses because of classes that either could not fit into my schedule but needed to be completed during the current semester or because of classes that were not offered a semester when I needed the class to be offered. If print-based programs are completely eliminated, I think it will be vital for the University to offer all classes each semester. (At least one session of each class) During junior and senior years, many students take print based classes in order to graduate on time during a pinch. I really do believe print-based courses are beneficial for the students. My experience with print-based programs has been a great success and asset to my education. I would like to see print-based programs stay within the University of Wisconsin-Platteville.
1/27/15: I think that the budget cuts to Residence Life should be removed.
3
Updated 1/27/2015

I believe that living on campus is a large portion of why students choose to stay at this university.
The connections I made while attending residence life sponsored programs and activities has built some long lasting friendships. I think that residence life has a direct influence on student retention and taking money away from the department makes it more difficult for the
Residence Life staff to do their job of getting students involved on campus and building relationships between students and between staff and students that help students through their college carriers.
General Public Responses/Questions:
1/23/15: I am voicing my concern over the proposed cuts to the PACCE and Entrepreneurship programs at UW-Platteville.
My office has directly used the PACCE program and have found the program of excellent quality, not only to my organization, but also provided an opportunity to the PACCE students to realize and experience real-world opportunities and experience. The 3 men that did our project through PACCE did a great job, and their work will benefit 9 of our cities and villages in Grant
County alone. Giving our students an opportunity to experience actual projects with face to face businesses is the best training tool, and PACCE provides that. That program needs to continue to be funded.
Entrepreneurship is critical to this region’s future business development. I have been directly involved with the entrepreneurship program on the UW-P campus, and am very impressed with the ideas and presentations of the students. We do truly have to “grow our own” when it comes to new businesses. This region is also lacking in entrepreneur training and I ask where students are to find the training in business startups and entrepreneurship if it is cut from UW-
P? I have been serving Grant County for 15 years and I don’t know where they will find those resources, training and education in this region.
1/24/15: I recently heard that there may be a budget cut involving the PAACE program. I am asking that you truly rethink this! When I started our bike trail construction, I knew I wanted a bike trail but, as a nurse, had no idea of how to create one. Someone gave me [PACCE
employee] name and I can't tell you how much money, time, sweat, and tears the UW-
Platteville students and staff have saved us.
Just starting out as a non-profit organization, to save our money to create a trail is so very important and if we would have to hire someone to accomplish what the students have done
4
Updated 1/27/2015

for us, we would already be bankrupt. The best thing is that the "kids" become invested in our community, and we become invested in UW-Platteville, with a debt we can never repay and a soft spot in our heart for all the efforts that were made for us!
We have a total of 4 projects. One project is a one-of-a-kind project....crossing the Wisconsin
River in a spot that there is no road, so we can bike and walk across where previously, only boats, canoes, and kayaks could view this beauty. I was truly counting on the assistance again of our Engineering team!
[PACCE employee] came and listened to our plans, trekked the countryside with us, and presented this to the correct people. His job saved, again, so much time and effort that a volunteer board could spend doing so much more!
I am truly devastated! Please feel free to call me if you need any other information and PLEASE reconsider continuing on with our community/college bonds that we feel are vital...and all the wonderful benefits that come with it!
1/25/15: It is essential that we all understand how PACCE provides the necessary real life experiences our UW Platteville students need. As we strive to use best practices, let’s remember that PACCE service learning is supported by research. Service learning projects benefit students, faculty, and community partners in the Tri state area. PACCE is a tool that promotes the real world experiences students need as they prepare for employment and giving to their communities. As students learn first-hand from community partners while out in the field, they are making solid learning connections to enter their chosen field and occupation. Wisconsin, Iowa, and Illinois communities are rich with engagement opportunities for UW Platteville students in all major areas. Let’s fully engage our students with Tri State experiences by continuing with what the research supports in our PACCE funded program.
Faculty & Staff Responses/Questions:
1/13/15: When I worked at Lands' End there were several steps they took to save money:
 they would have hiring freezes,
 no bonuses or pay increase
 cut travel
 cut conference trainings, (did more skype meetings) ~
 early out on Fridays (only have everyone work until noon - after that the campus was empty...)
The things that might apply to campus that they didn't do there:
 close offices totally during the holiday breaks (John Deere does this)
 2 week shut down during the summer (again like John Deere does over Holiday break)
5
Updated 1/27/2015

 get a local account and buy local supplies instead of online through vendors
 food for events may have to be more basic and the cost of food may have to be reviewed
 maybe review advertising costs?
1/16/15: It was proposed a few years ago to go to a 14 week semester instead of a 16 week semester with the week of thanksgiving off and ending a week earlier in December. We could then also start a week or two later in January. Thus saving on heating a number of buildings for an additional 2-3 weeks in the winter.
We could also probably offer a few more winterim courses with 3-4 weeks in January and thus increase revenue as well. This would also help with graduating students in a shorter time.
1/20/15: Thanks for the opportunity to submit feedback for the proposed reductions to the budget. Here are my thoughts:
I know the budget situation is dire, but I’m disappointed to see so many cuts to academic programs, including the elimination of tenure-track lines. These cuts seem short-sighted, especially now that we have more instructional academic staff than tenure-track faculty (a data point for which we’ll surely get dinged by HLC). Moreover, the cuts seem to target education positions in particular, which is unwise given the tremendous changes for licensure that will affect our students in AY 2016—and that education is one of our most popular majors. Again, I think the HLC will not be happy to see these changes.
The proposal of to eliminate English education is especially frightening. I can speak more specifically about this proposed cut, since English is my departmental home. Eliminating this position has very bad long-term consequences. English has three concentrations for its major, and English education is the most popular. We currently have NO faculty in this area and have been relying on a part-time academic staff member who plans to retire before the EdTPA requirements go into effect (i.e. very soon). If we don’t have someone in this position, we will, again, run into trouble with HLC as well as DPI. Essentially, by eliminating this position, you’re killing a robust major.
I’m not as familiar with the situation in other colleges, but given the past investment in programs like micro-systems and nano-technology, it seems short-sighted to simply abandon the program now. This area is supposed to be a high-growth one in the future, and we’ve already laid a foundation for it.
6
Updated 1/27/2015

So what could be eliminated? In my opinion, cut the Holiday banquet in December, which is nice but not necessary, and eliminate the Distinguished Lecturer series: fewer than 50% of students actually attend, it cuts into class time, and it’s expensive.
I hope that, when you’re finalizing decisions, you’re not just simply counting the number of strategic priorities it connects to: I’ve always found it very problematic that education is only one of six. Education is the central mission of a university, and it's where our focus should lie.
1/20/15: I see that one of the items under consideration for elimination is the smaller computer labs. I wanted to reach out and make an appeal to continue support for the lab in
Warner. As you know, our majors [Psychology] (still one of the largest in our college!) are required to complete three research methods courses. Two of these courses require extensive computer-related work, specifically access to statistical programs (e.g. SPSS). As you probably recall, our Behavioral Research II course structures nine hours of contact between the instructor and the students, which would be challenging to block out in one of the larger, public lab spaces; and over the last several years, we have increased the number of sections of our research courses, which would put even more pressure on those labs. Additionally, those hours don't include the informal opportunities that we now have, given our offices are adjacent to the lab. Anecdotally, I believe I have greater use of office hours relative to any professor (bar one) because of my proximity to the lab; our students access that space continually.
1/21/15: In regards to budget revenue ideas I was wondering if anyone has researched the idea of expanding the Auxiliary Enterprise programs to include partnerships with the City of
Platteville. One such thought was the Recreation Department and the services provided by the city. Could the city recreation department be combined with a similar entity within the university? Perhaps the fees collected could pay for the services provided along with combining the expenses for both governmental bodies. In addition this could create opportunities for students majoring in related fields (internships, etc).
1/21/15: I am writing in regard to item 68 (“Review Frequency of Stylus”) on the “Reduction
Options” Excel spreadsheet. “Stylus: An Anthology of Freshman Writing” is a self-funding project. All costs associated with the publication are generated through sales of the book. Neither the University nor the College funds any part of “Stylus.”
1/22/15: I want to give a comment about the PACCE program. I have witnessed firsthand the transformative experiences that are being created for our students both in semester-long initiatives and in the summer internships.
My understanding is that PACCE has been allocated monies from student fees for their work. At its inception, I believe that the student body agreed to increase their fees to
7
Updated 1/27/2015

accommodate the program. Since then, monies from this tax have been reallocated to support drug and alcohol abuse initiatives.
I believe that we are doing well to support drug and alcohol abuse interdiction. However, I believe that it is improper to tax the students for one thing and then reallocate for another. And so I hope that PACCE funding will be reinstated OR that the fees being charged to the students be renegotiated.
PACCE is a substantial program, one that separates UWP from most institutions. As a member of OEPT #1 and an advocate for excellence in education, I believe that we need to support
PACCE more, not less.
1/22/15: I urge restoration of the College of LAE's PR specialist position, which is line item 65 on the budget cut spreadsheet. I realize the structural deficit requires difficult choices, but I believe the PR position is essential. As the campus relies more and more on alumni gifts, external grants, and non-state sources of revenue, it is more important than ever before to publicize the work, accomplishments, and good deeds of the entire College. The PR specialist is a cost recovery position, even if the return is not immediately or easily measurable. In 2014, more than 5,000 alumni gave money to our foundation--surely a substantial number of these donors are LAE alums whose "investment in the future of UW-Platteville" (to quote the Winter
2015 issue of Alumni Today, p. 26) was made after reading a story or profile produced by the
LAE College PR specialist (for a sample, please see the links below). What would it take to retain the position? If every LAE faculty gave back $200 of their professional development funds indefinitely, could we keep the PR specialist? I would happily make this sacrifice and would call upon my colleagues throughout the college to support such a reallocation or a similar one.
College of LAE Student and Faculty Projects and Activities
(press releases from June 2013 through December 2014) http://www.uwplatt.edu/lae/student-and-faculty-projects-and-activities
College of LAE Pioneer Spotlights http://www.uwplatt.edu/lae/pioneer-spotlights
College of LAE Newsletters http://www.uwplatt.edu/lae/college-lae-newsletter
1/22/15: I am writing to give you some feedback. People have spent so much effort and time to build the excellent Mems Nano major. Has anybody seen the Instruments and the Clean Room they setup? Our students are vigorously working on the research projects during the
8
Updated 1/27/2015

semester and in the summer. Yes, the number of majors is low now, but it's just started. How many of our students does the Confucius Institute teach? How many of our students benefit from it? If you read the news, some universities are in the process of closing their Confucius
Institute including Univ. of Chicago. http://news.uchicago.edu/article/2014/09/25/statementconfucius-institute-university-chicago.
1/22/15: I am writing to you in regards to the recent presentation of the Budget Reduction
Plan. I understand and empathize with the committee on the difficulty of making these decisions.
However, I want to bring to your attention one item in which a recommendation to examine the elimination of the Print Based Program on the Budget Reduction Options for Review spreadsheet. Further review is imperative before action is taken to eliminate this program. I am not in a position to present the financial details of the print based program, but I can offer some information about the impact the print based program has had for some of our students.
As a staff member of the Distance Learning Center, I have held several roles. I have worked in the Marketing/Recruiting area as a Recruiter and am currently in the Student Services area as an Outreach Specialist/Academic Advisor.
In my experience in the role as a recruiter I spoke to many different prospective students from all over the world, with many different needs. I am always proud of representing UW-
Platteville and the quality of education we offer our students. One prospective student in particular comes to mind. Last year I spoke to a student who was trying to decide between attending UW-Platteville and another school. As I continued to speak with this student, our conversation led to her “story.” She was a mother of several young children who had lost her husband in Iraq/Afghanistan in the previous year. She wanted to use the educational benefits from the military to complete her education in order to provide a better life for her young children. However, she was very apprehensive about being able to manage a part-time job, raising her children and meeting the weekly deadlines of the online courses. At that time I presented the option of print based courses in which she had a year to complete a course, and could complete her assignments according to her schedule within that year. She was so relieved to hear that this was an option for her at this crucial time in her life. I am pleased to say that she applied and is an active print based student here at UW-Platteville Distance Learning
Center. UW-Platteville claims to be a military-friendly school, and I feel this was an excellent example of how we met the needs of a military family, that other schools were not able to meet.
I am currently in the role of Academic Advisor. I advise a small population of students who are only print based. A majority of these students are incarcerated and do not have access to the
9
Updated 1/27/2015

Internet. Many of these students have their own stories in which we are not privy. However, I want to point out that by offering print based courses, we provide an opportunity for students to work towards rehabilitation and empower them when they are re-integrated back into society. We provide the opportunity for these students to be a contributing member of society upon release. I currently have a female student who was released and reintegrated back into society and is planning to complete the program in 2015. I have another incarcerated student who is a male, African-American, who graduated from our program in December of 2014, with a high grade point average. There are also two more students who are approaching completion of our program as well. This may seem like a small number but it speaks volumes to how UW-
Platteville recognizes and meets the needs of the underserved population and minorities in the state of Wisconsin, as well as throughout the nation. We provide an opportunity for a quality education.
Although there are many factors in making the difficult decision on how to reduce the budget, I implore you to reconsider eliminating the print based program offered through the Distance
Learning Center. I strongly feel that by offering a print based course option to students, UW-
Platteville fulfills its vision of “being recognized as the leading student-focused university for its success in achieving excellence, creating opportunities, and empowering each individual.”
I have shared a couple of examples of the importance of offering print based courses. There are other student populations in the Distance Learning Center that use the print based program apart from the students in which I serve. I am just sharing my part in the program. We, at the
DLC, are passionate about serving all of our students, and I would be happy to meet with you in person to discuss the importance of keeping print based courses as an option. I appreciate your consideration.
1/22/15: First, I greatly appreciate what UABC is doing in trying to manage a very difficult situation, so I want to start by thanking you all for your work. I couldn't tell who the chair of the committee is, but I wanted to communicate my concerns to the committee - your name popped out at me.
I'm extremely concerned about the proposed cut of the Teaching and Learning Center for our campus. With 40% of our re-affirmation of accreditation now focused specifically on teaching and learning, including resources for on-campus professional development, it seems like an exceptionally poor choice to close the one institutional office we have that's devoted to exactly this. I don't have access to my desktop computer at the moment, so I can't pull up specific data, but I think that would make us either the only school in System or maybe in the dubious company of one other 4-year institution that doesn't have a teaching center available as a resource for our faculty and staff.
10
Updated 1/27/2015

I know that one argument that may be made is that attendance at the workshops has historically been low. Yet if you talk to those people who have participated in their programs, I suspect that we would learn that they have been of great value (again, no data to hand). What other resource on campus is available to organize (at an institutional level) training on developing writing intensive courses? best practices in assessment? new pedagogical methods? If we're concerned about its effectiveness, then that needs to be the focus of the campus conversation. In our last HLC accreditation review, the review team pointed out how fragmented our efforts in many of these areas were. Eliminating the TLC suggests that we didn't take their criticism seriously.
To support our claim that we meet the HLC's Criterion Three, that we provide a high quality education wherever and however we deliver our programs, we have to be able to provide convincing evidence that, as an institution - not in individual departments or colleges, we support effective teaching. Yes, we have internal grants that a few individuals can access each year, but no central mechanism other than the TLC to have those individuals communicate to and share with the campus what they've done and learned. Yes, we have Dean's funds to support a few individuals each year to attend professional conferences. What percentage of those are directly related to improvement of teaching effectiveness? How do those individuals communicate to and share with the rest of the campus community what they've learned and brought back to us as a result of our investment in their personal professional development? What institutional resources other than the TLC are available for professional development of our academic instructional staff?
I was at a meeting of colleagues focused on improving education in biology just this past weekend. When I shared with them that we, as a campus, are considering eliminating the TLC, they were appalled. These were our peers, just as those who review us for re-affirmation of accreditation will be. As we move forward with these exceptionally difficult decisions, we need to consider carefully the implications of these decisions to those outside our campus community, as well as their impacts on the professional development of our instructors and our commitment to excellence as a teaching institution.
I appreciate if you would share this with the other members of the UABC. Thank you for your time and attention.
1/22/15: I have long been an advocate of Experiential Learning. I think the PACCE program provides a means of invaluable experience for students. In my opinion, UW-Platteville exists to provide learning opportunities for students and that often means more than the classroom. I realize that some hard and far-reaching financial decisions need to be made. However, I believe that cutting PACCE attacks one of the best ways in which we fulfill our mission. I would
11
Updated 1/27/2015

be happy to say more about this program and its importance. Please contact me if I can be of assistance.
1/22/15: Our university is known for graduating students worth experience because of how much practical work they do worth the community. PACCE was always one of the major reasons for getting professors and students together with the community and allow them to do great projects that community members have greatly benefited from and students have gained great experience that helped them in finding a good job when they graduate. Also in the area of short summer study abroad courses, PACCE has played a great role in giving the students the opportunity to have international experience.
1/23/15: Ideas for Budget Reduction
1.
Greater cost efficiency in Distance Education a.
Change faculty compensation in online courses to a flat rate. It reduces our instructional costs while preserving revenue, thus yielding a better margin. I estimate that this would save, conservatively, $350k per year. i.
Average among competition is $1800 to $2500 per course b.
Reduce overlapping duties with campus by bringing DLC and campus together i.
Admissions processing ii.
Advising and retention iii.
NOT marketing, advertising and recruitment though. The campus personnel lack the specialized knowledge in this area.
2.
Increase faculty teaching efficiency a.
Increase teaching load by one course per year. If standard load is 24 credits per year, make it 27 credits per year. b.
Standardize teaching load across University. There’s currently significant unnecessary variability across departments and colleges c.
Move away from credit load per year to student head count per year. For example, teach as many sections as needed to get to a total SCH.
3.
Start cutting non-essential support services. We need to delineate “required” support from
“nice to have” support. a.
Student Health Services b.
Counseling Services c.
First Year Experience d.
Campus Read e.
Distinguished Lecture f.
Other non-academic support
4.
Revenue Promotion Ideas
12
Updated 1/27/2015

a.
Incentivize undergraduate students to immediately continue with graduate program i.
Tuition incentive ii.
Continuous enrollment incentive iii.
Other incentives (books since distance students don’t participate in text rental)
5.
Reduce number of inefficient course sections a.
Make it financially unwise to drop a course i.
Substantial fee to drop a class starting on Day 1 of semester ($100, more?) b.
Instead of building new labs, offer night lab classes c.
Set a strict headcount for courses (e.g. no sections with less than 20 students)
6.
Centralize professional development funding
7.
Centralize TLC, ICET, ITS. This eliminates several supervisory positions and aggregates resources
8.
Freeze and review all open non-instructional positions a.
For example, Sports Info Director position
1/23/15: This was and is not an easy process for anyone and I appreciate the time and effort everyone has taken to try to find a solution. This is a scary time for all and thankful it is only
$5M and not more! My only suggestion at this time is to provide a few sentences sharing how you came to these particular decisions and explain what TBD means. Maybe this is too late to provide now and asking too much, but for future reference it would be helpful for staff to see some reasoning/explanation behind the suggested cuts by administration. This may help when providing feedback.
1/25/15: It is my pleasure to write about PACCE research funding. PACCE grant gives an opportunity to work together students, community partner and faculty member. Students in my group obtained significant experiences on working in a group collaborating with community partner. They learned how to collect data and how to present data to audiences. I strongly agree keeping support for PACCE grant.
1/26/15: Some suggestions to consider:
1) Set a minimum amount of students per class. If there are less students than the minimum, then the class should be cancelled, or the instructor takes a reduction in pay or teaches an extra section of another class and is paid a per student overload for the other class. Another option would be to create a SCH minimum for a department and then the department and/or college could manage how many students are in classes, as long as the minimum SCH is reached. Obviously there would need to be work done to determine what the SCH level needs to be to address our budget constraints.
13
Updated 1/27/2015

2) Since summer school enrollments have gone down in past years, we should review any areas that continue to employ people full-time during the summer months, but the workload has gone down. Offer administrative assistants and/or other employees in those departments that do not have much summer activity, the opportunity to go to a 9 or 10 month employment contract. If the employee needs to maintain full-time employment, then have them work for other areas on campus that have very busy summers
(i.e. camps/conferences, admissions, catering, etc.).
3) If faculty are not teaching a full load (release time for various items), identify what impact is being brought to the institution by the work they are doing that is not teaching.
4) Eliminate the SAIF, CIF, Grant, and Assessment incentive grants. These are all items that should be part of people's current responsibilities. While everyone can't or shouldn't be doing everything (with the exception of assessment), research, grants, and curriculum improvement are all part of our jobs. We shouldn't have to be paid extra for these items.
5) Reduce the large variety of general education classes that are offered and simplify the general education curriculum array.
6) Seriously review the list of current majors and minors and eliminate those that are not providing the appropriate curriculum, serving sufficient student numbers, and/or where we have problems hiring faculty. I know this is on the list of items to be reviewed, but these are things that should have been done on an ongoing basis and have not been for many years. While a case can likely be made for every major and minor that we have, we obviously cannot afford everything we are doing, so we need to make the choices that best reflect the mission and vision of our institution.
7) Utilize various technologies to reduce the amount of time that information is presented repeatedly. For example, if there are several sections of a class where basic information is presented numerous times each week, video tape those lectures and have it presented to students in that format. This reduces the amount of time that information is presented, thus having more classrooms open and allowing faculty time to work with more students.
8) Perhaps we don't eliminate sabbaticals, but we don't offer them for 2-3 years until we can afford them.
9) Encourage entrepreneurial activities that will raise revenue for the campus. Identify additional revenue generating activities that could benefit the campus. (i.e. advertising venues on the campus electronic announcement boards, advertising on the campus shuttle bus, offer more classes/activities in the evening to utilize the campus physical plant (receive rent for this
14
Updated 1/27/2015

use), etc.). Identify areas of the campus that could become cost recovery or partial cost recovery.
10) Reduce the amount of student drops that occur during the 10 day drop/add period-possibly incorporate some type of drop fee that would impact the decision to drop. There are a large number of students that sign up for 15-18 credits (since there is no additional charge for
12-18) and use the first two weeks to determine which classes they will keep. Many drops occur, so classes do not remain full and additional instructors have been hired to teach additional sections of classes. In addition, to the additional instructors being hired, now faculty are being paid the same amount if they have a full class or not. This goes back to establishing a minimum SCH.
Thanks for the opportunity to give input.
1/26/15:
1) The Teaching and Learning Center should not be eliminated. We recently finished our new mission and vision with our focus re-emphasized as a teaching institution and studentcentered. It is important that the T&LC remain to assist faculty with good teaching techniques. Combine ICET and T&LC to have a better transition between training on pedagogy and training on academic technology. As the teaching field continues to evolve, it will be even more important to have staff to assist and support instructors in their teaching roles.
2) Reduce the Administrative Assistant position in the Institutional Effectiveness office or combine with another department. Not enough work to keep person busy full-time.
3) Identify a time frame in which ORSP should become cost recovery.
4) Determine if the School of Education Office of Special Programs should/could be combined with another area.
5) Complete a review of software licenses that departments have to insure that they are still needed and/or if we now have a system license for them.
1/26/15:
1) Reduce printing and paper needs. We’ve started taking steps on this in the past but it’s time to get serious. We spend half a million dollars per year on printing; get rid of the paper before people. The way that we get serious on this is one or two (maybe both) ways. In order to actually reduce printing we need to move from “asking” to “requiring”. First, set a per-semester printing allowance for everyone; tie it to their campus ID and make the allowance nontransferrable. At the end of the semester, the allowance is reset and cannot be carried over.
15
Updated 1/27/2015

Second, create an incentive for people to not use all of their printing allowance. Perhaps a contest, a mid-sized (yet profitable for the university) reward.
2) Review that value of having a Chief Diversity Officer (CDO). This position is expensive, the return on investment is questionable, and I think this is definitely a position that is beneficial but not a requirement to be successful. If we’re going after positions, you have to cut many low-level positions to equate to one CDO.
3) Review the Chief of Staff position. I’ve heard that this expense will soon return to our campus. Same argument as the CDO mentioned before.
4) Review the value of the Office of Multicultural Student Affairs.
1/26/15: I have a concern regarding the budget reduction item noted as “Eliminate central funding of Tuition Reimbursement for Employees (departments may still fund).”
This is a benefit that I have strong personal feelings about. I have struggled my whole life with obtaining my bachelor’s degree. I don’t need to give you my whole history, but I do want to share with you my feelings about it.
I could have used tuition reimbursement at previous jobs I held, but ethically, I didn’t feel right about taking advantage of it with past employers. I have a personal belief that if I’m going to ask my employer to help me pay for my education, that I want to stay with them and “reinvest” their investment in me back into the organization.
I truly feel that I finally have found the right career path for my life and I want to further my career with UW-Platteville and the Distance Learning Center. With the aid of tuition reimbursement, I can financially afford to take classes and meet my personal goal of obtaining a bachelor’s degree. Not only will I meet a personal goal, but I also feel “right” about giving back my time and knowledge to the university and the DLC of the tuition they invested in me, once I receive my degree.
It’s noted that departments may still fund tuition reimbursement. If we’re making cuts campuswide, will individual departments have money available for tuition reimbursement?
Response: It would be up to individual departments to decide how to use their allocated budget and whether or not tuition reimbursement is a priority for their department.
I’m wondering if those of us that are currently enrolled in degree-seeking programs, will be grand-fathered in?
Response: The way it is currently listed on the reduction options, there would be no grandfathering in of those currently using the central tuition reimbursement funds. That could
16
Updated 1/27/2015

perhaps be something that is done on an individual department-by-department basis using their existing departmental budgets.
If not, I’d like to offer a suggestion of possibly keeping tuition reimbursement in place, but to lower the amount of reimbursement from 100% for undergrad programs to say 50-75%? Even a reduction in what is reimbursed would help financially instead of dropping it completely.
1/26/15: What does “GPR” stand for?
Response:
Below is a basic description of the different funding sources we use at UW-Platteville:
General Purpose Revenue (GPR) – includes general funding, specific purpose funding, and earmarked funding from the state, primarily from state sales and income taxes [Funds 102, 104,
109, 110, 402, 403, 406]
Program Revenue (PR) – includes tuition, auxiliaries, and segregated fees, as revenues received for services or from users [Funds 123, 128, 131, 132, 136, 189]
NOTE: Segregated fees are charges assessed to students including textbook rental, health services, student center operations, athletics, intramural sports, parking, student activities
(allocable), municipal services, children’s center and ID systems.
Federal Revenue (PR-F) – includes federal grants, financial aid, direct loans, as revenues from a federal agency [Funds 144 – 150]
Gifts and Grants – includes revenues from the Foundation, non-federal grants [Funds 133, 134,
184, 233]
1/26/15: Question- Has the thought of an early retirement package been discussed?
Response: Yes, this has been brought up and is something the University is exploring as a possibility.
Suggestion-A thought is to come up with an early retirement package (ask staff what would encourage early retirement to get ideas), if decided to offer a package, then have a meeting with all staff eligible to retire within a few years and announce the early retirement package. Rule: “X” amount of staff have to take this retirement package by such date. If “X” amount of staff do not take the package then the university would not be able to offer to anyone because it would not be beneficial.
17
Updated 1/27/2015

1/26/15: I strongly recommend keeping the funding for PACCE. Our Health and Human
Performance department has implemented many programs utilizing the funding to help our majors gain valuable service learning with K-12 area schools. Last year alone, my three PACCE grants allowed 152 K-12 students to enjoy the ropes course, geocaching, snow shoeing, broomball, and the fun game of Battleship in the pool area. The UWP students learned how to utilize new technology such as accelerometers, pedometers, and lactic acid analyzer, all purchased through the PACCE grant funding, that our department budget would not be able to purchase.
I feel our department will be really compromised without the PACCE grant funding. We have five faculty and staff member who write a grant every semester to help pay for needed equipment or supplies to provide unique experiences to our majors.
Please keep the funding for PACCE.
1/27/15: It was shocking to see how much it costs ($700,000+) to provide remedial education to overcome the lack of necessary college preparation in our high schools and community colleges. Pres. Obama wants to make Community College free in the future. Preparing students for college is a necessary role for Federal government in public high school and community college education, and NOT a costly, time-intensive burden to be assumed by our financially strapped state college system.
1/27/15: The area I supervise is included in the action item dealing with review print shop/centralize printers. I think this is a great idea and am wondering what this entails, what I need to do, and how I can get involved in this process. My staff and I would like to help educate campus about print and other services we offer. Please point me in the direction of who is handling this item so I can get started on this. I feel strongly that there are too many printers and copiers on campus and many people could and should utilize the services we offer in
Pioneer Printing and Postal Services. By directing the campus community to use our professional equipment and services, the university could save thousands of dollars by not buying new multifunctional copiers. As a part of University Information and Communications, we also monitor and help project and protect the university's brand and image with any printed pieces we produce. Thank you.
Response: At this point, nobody has been tasked with the TBD items or given timelines for the items. When the time comes, someone will contact you for your assistance and insight.
1/27/15:
1) Charge a substantial graduation fee. For example, if we charged a $1,000 graduation fee (or some less conspicuous number like $980), we could take in over a million in new revenue each
18
Updated 1/27/2015

year. A “graduation fee” would be like the annual fee for a credit card. That is, most people don’t shop for credit cards based on annual fees (unfortunately); they shop based on interest rate. Likewise, students don’t shop based on a fee that they will incur in four years; they shop based on annual tuition. I know this is a somewhat unsavory tactic, but desperate situations call for desperate measures. And, after all, processing graduating students does incur costs for UW-
Platteville, yet those students currently pay the same tuition as freshman.
2) One of the ideas mentioned today was to increase tuition for specific majors. I think a better approach would be to increase tuition for specific courses. After all, some courses are *way* more expensive to deliver than others. We could have a “base tuition” rate that most people would pay attention to, but maybe a third of our courses would fall into one or more tiers with more expensive tuition. I’m think courses for which there is an expensive lab component, equipment, etc. Again, students don’t shop based on these higher fees; they shop based on base tuition.
3) Certificate programs have been mentioned. But more specifically, I would add a strategy that
I have seen at other universities. Universities will try to sell students on bachelor degree programs by adding a sweetener, telling them that they don’t have to study for 4 years before getting a return on their investment. 1 or 2 years into their program, they can earn a
“certificate” in an area of study. It provides a little immediate gratification while the students continue to work toward their bachelor degree. If we adopted this “sales” technique and developed these kinds of certificate “products,” we could charge for them, like $500 or something, similar to the “graduation fee” I mentioned. I think a lot of students would gladly pay $500 one or two years into their program to get their hands on a piece of paper that makes them feel like they’ve already accomplished something. And in the meantime, we would increase revenue, in addition to attracting more students who like the certificate option.
4) Charge athletes to participate in their sports. I know they already pay for gear and miscellaneous fees, but they could be charged a fee at the university level that appears on their bill. This is not unfair and not just a revenue generating gimmick in my opinion. Athletic programs introduce risks and expenses beyond those generated by non-athlete students. A measly $100 fee could generate tens or hundreds of thousands of dollars for the university.
5) Utilize student internships. I have had numerous student workers approach me about using their job as an internship, but then, when they look into it, they learn that their professor does not allow their internship to be completed on campus. Why not? I realize we don’t want to have bogus internships just to save money on labor, but some of our student jobs on campus offer extremely valuable experience that is difficult to find elsewhere, and the Web
Development Office is a great example. If our student workers were unpaid interns, we could save at least $10K each year, and that’s just one department.
19
Updated 1/27/2015