As you know, we are headed into another budget year, which will establish the state budget for higher education for 2017-19. The state budget for the UW System has been cut in five of the last six cycles. (The budget allocates dollars to the UW System as a whole; the System then allocates dollars to individual campuses.) Over the past 12 years, state dollars to the UW System have fallen by $164 million (inflation adjusted), and this has translated to a loss of $62 million (inflation adjusted) in state dollars to UW-Madison.
As part of the budget debate, it is imperative that we make the case for why higher education in Wisconsin is an excellent investment. One of the tools we have to help people understand our budget is the University of Wisconsin–Madison Budget in Brief, and the 2016-17 version is now available.
This is the third year of this publication. The Budget in Brief is the product of a collaboration between the Office of University Relations, the Office of the Vice Chancellor for Finance and Administration, and the Office of Academic Planning and Institutional Research.
Using easy-to-interpret graphics, charts and text, the Budget in Brief tells our budget story, showing where the money comes from and how we spend it. The document describes changes in student financial aid, fund balances and the UW’s economic impact. For example, did you know that the federal government provides over 30 percent of our total revenue, while state funds account for 15 percent? Or that our in-state tuition rate ranks seventh among the 13 Big Ten public universities, while our room and board fees are second lowest among our Big Ten peers?
Print copies of the Budget in Brief will be distributed to state and local government officials, legislators, alumni and internal stakeholders in the coming days. If you don’t receive a copy and would like one, email Greg Bump, or look at the online version to learn how our budget works.