Jay O. Rothman, president of the University of Wisconsin System, speaks during the UW Board of Regents meeting hosted at Union South at the University of Wisconsin–Madison on Feb. 9, 2023. (Photo by Althea Dotzour / UW–Madison)

The Universities of Wisconsin Administration released a third-party report on its finances Monday, announcing plans for how it can better and more efficiently support the state’s public universities as the system faces declining enrollment and increased scrutiny from Republican lawmakers. 

The report’s release comes after Assembly Speaker Robin Vos said that the system’s $855 million budget request was a nonstarter — even though system President Jay Rothman agreed to Republican demands for changes to the system’s diversity, equity and inclusion policies. 

“Right now, the Universities of Wisconsin are 43rd out of 50 states in the nation in terms of public support for our universities,” Rothman said on WISN’s UpFront on Sunday. “The $855 million gets us up to average, gets us up to the median. That, to me, in the context of a long period of time where the universities have not been invested in, is a reasonable ask.”

The release of the report, from the consulting firm Deloitte, on the system administration’s finances comes after similar reviews of the finances of the 12 University of Wisconsin schools outside of UW-Madison. Ten of those schools have been operating at a deficit as budget support from the state government has decreased and enrollment numbers have declined. Only the Madison, La Crosse and Stout campuses have been projected to create enough revenues to cover their expenses. 

A strategic plan implemented by the UW Board of Regents in 2022 calls for structural deficits to be resolved by 2028. A decade-long tuition freeze implemented by Republican lawmakers was ended in 2022 and earlier this year, the Regents approved the second tuition increase in two years. 

​​“The independent third-party review that has now concluded complements our strategic plan, adopted by the Board of Regents two years ago,” Rothman said in a statement. “It provides us insight on how better to provide unparalleled educational opportunities for Wisconsin students, improve Wisconsin communities, and help Wisconsin win the War for Talent.” 

The report notes that each campus is run independently and that system administration needs to do a better job clearly stating what its goals are so campus leaders can plan effectively. 

There is a need to improve systemwide accountability, while leaving space for the unique identity and culture of each campus, as the Universities of Wisconsin is the sum of its parts, ultimately rolling up to singular financial statements.

“Without a clear tactical vision and roadmap for the future of UW operations, it is difficult for university leaders to make informed decisions about investing in operations and/or strategic priorities,” the report states. “UW universities would benefit from a strategic roadmap across administrative, operations, technology, programmatic, and enrollment initiatives.”

Efforts to solve the system’s financial woes have already been underway, with a number of branch campuses across the state being shuttered and faculty and staff at several universities facing layoffs. 

The release of the individual campus financial reports in April drew concerns from faculty and students that the system would lean on austerity measures to balance the budget, harming their jobs and educational opportunities when the true cause of the struggles is the lack of financial support the system has gotten in the state budget. 

Monday’s report recommends that the system administration do more oversight of academic program creation and management, noting that the number of programs at the 12 non-Madison campuses has grown by nearly 7% while the number of bachelor’s degrees conferred has declined by more than 9%. The report states that system administration should set clear markers for what it means for a program to be successful and better determine if a program should be tweaked, invested in, combined between campuses or closed. 

“While creating and curating academic programs should fall within the purview of faculty governance at each university, UW Admin should be accountable for creating transparent policies and processes to provide the data necessary for the Board of Regents to fulfill its role in approving and monitoring programs,” the report states. 

With the release of the report, Rothman announced a number of plans to follow its recommendations, including being more active in enrollment management, creating a work group for evaluating low-enrollment programs, increased standards for financial accountability and providing “more effective, customer-focused shared services.” 

“These reviews have helped us refine steps to eliminate structural deficits at a number of our universities and embark on a path of long-term financial stability,” Rothman said. “We will continue to make necessary changes across our universities to ensure faithful stewardship of resources and to better serve students and parents, employers, and communities across Wisconsin.”