Student & Alumni Responses/Questions

Budget Feedback Received AFTER September 1, 2015
To see the feedback that was received prior to September 1, 2015, please see the documents located at http://www.uwplatt.edu/budget/budget-reduction-planning.

()

Standard reply: Thank you for your input. Your feedback will be included in a summary document located at http://www.uwplatt.edu/budget/2015%E2%80%9317-budget-reduction-planning-process. 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 posting the feedback and response(s).

Student & Alumni Responses/Questions:

10/15/15: Budget suggestion: limit high salaries. Pick five people who can make over $125,000 and no more. The others can be rehired in a renamed position for less money. It is very disturbing to see the salaries of so many highly paid administrators. Many of them, particularly the Chancellor and Dean of LAE, appear to be off-campus more than they are here.

Budget suggestion: moratorium on Dean fund-raising, since it clearly isn’t working, and also put a moratorium on international travel except for teaching faculty in cost-return programs.

Budget suggestion: audit and report amount of all international travel by university employees and their spouses (if the university has paid for the spouse.) Put a moratorium on this and count it as savings.

Budget suggestion: audit and report all salary and travel fees paid to consultants and list what each person or group was consulting about. On a case-by-case basis, declare a moratorium on particular types of consulting.

Question: under the new model, Deans are supposed to spend half of their time fund-raising. This seems like a poor model since Foundation went into the red. People who donate to Foundation are not encouraged when we see this.

Budget suggestion: audit fundraising activities of Deans and if this shows a net loss (i.e. if he or she has not raised more than half of his gross salary), then have the Deans stay on campus and work. Reduce the number of associate deans.

Budget suggestion: any high-level (salary over $80,000) administrative position which becomes vacant should not be replaced immediately. If it is a critical position, then we should hire an interim person from within the university. We should not hire any administrator from outside of the university until the budget crisis has past. The university seems critically short of institutional knowledge especially with so many long-time employees leaving.

If qualified faculty members can take vacant positions, then those faculty members should be moved in to the vacant positions. That would allow us to lay off fewer academic staff.

Eliminate the Economics program. It has no major or minor yet some of the highest paid faculty members on campus.

Eliminate the Speech program or else hire a faculty member. Speech has no major, minor, nor faculty but administers a critical and required general education course. Take the requirement seriously or cut the program.

10/15/15: The Budget Commission needs to ask hard questions about the number of people in high paying positions, especially when we are talking about laying off so many people in low-paying positions. We need to stop using three years ago as a measure and instead use five years ago. Picking three instead of five paints a very false picture.

How many high-level administrators do we have now compared to five years ago? It appears that the previous Associate Vice Chancellor of Academic Affairs, who never made more than $110,000, has been replaced by three people who each make more than $125,000, even though part of his responsibilities (directing the Confucius Institute) is now part of the workload of the Associate Dean of LAE. Why is this?

Is appears that the previous Director of International Initiatives, who made about $60,000, has also been replaced by three people, all of whom make more than she did.

WE NEED THIS DATA to make informed suggestions. Please ask for it. It appears that you could easily cut over half a million dollars from upper administration and still have more people there than five years ago.

11/4/15: As a part of this institution and as I believed of we are in the same boat, the budget challenge always under our consideration whether we are faculty members or students. And as it is a part of my engineering discipline to save a source of energy especially the electricity bill where the most load I think from water heaters. I strongly recommend to use the solar power system beside the traditional way of heating water using any of these methods or both to reducing the bill amount for long terms:

1. In top of campus building.

2. Using Central Heating plant tower to apply this Receiver Tower and the top of surrounded buildings will be Collector field.

11/5/15: I am currently a student as well as an employee at the University of Wisconsin-Platteville for almost four years. I didn’t plan on coming here when I was in high school and I didn’t plan on having the major I will be graduating with in the spring. That being said, I am a part of one of the greatest campuses in the world-and yes, that is a biased opinion I made after the experiences I’ve had here during my time. I have grown to love this place and the professors, students, and faculty that I have encountered.

The budget cuts are something that not many students at UW-Platt or any other UW college had much control over, Scott Walker was voted in by parents, aunts, uncles, grandparents, men and women who would not be attending college from 2015 and on. I do not believe that many UW-Platt students understand fully, the implications of the budget cuts and what that means for this campus and them directly through campus programs. I am sure I will give myself away through process of elimination but being involved in quite a few clubs, and employed by several different departments on campus. I have come to understand the implications that these cuts will have on us through classes for my final semester being cut as well as my entire major changing for Fall 2016.

As I have been involved with the Pioneer Academic Center for Community Engagement (PACCE) over my time here and it was in great shock that I learned that this university would be cutting this program’s funding in its entirety. The only way PACCE could continue past this spring is to get funding from other sources- seems unlikely to keep a whole program going through outside sponsorship.

In case anyone who is reading this is not aware of what exactly PACCE and the PACCE employees do, here is a brief description: “is a transformative initiative for the campus-wide coordination, integration, and leadership of community-based scholarship of engagement on the UW-Platteville campus; and is a funding source for scholarship of engagement projects and internships.” Not only does PACCE help with undergraduate research and involvement but the director, Dr. Kevin Bernhardt has helped create many students individual business dreams. The minor of Entrepreneurship is based under PACCE and the PACCE employees. You can go to this office if you need help financially with an unpaid internship, with a service project to gain valuable experience as well as serve your community, create bonds with the community and the university, get help starting your own business through business plans and workshops, or even taking the entrepreneurship minor classes.

I can’t believe that out of all the cuts - this program needed to have its entire budget disappear. This isn't an extra program for student activities on nights and weekends, this is a program that makes our UW school different from the rest. We have the ability to create real like scenarios for students while helping our community. Many students who have participated will tell you the difference it made in their educations, it is not an extra luxury, it is UW-Platteville taking education to the next level.

I understand that because of our legislature, we are forced to come up with money that we don’t necessarily have to give. BUT I am horrified that this whole program is going to be cut-because it has positively affected so many students past and present. Over 8,000 students have participated in a PACCE project. Over 175 faculty partners have included PACCE projects into their classrooms. Over 900 community partners have engaged with UW-Platteville students and faculty to complete a PACCE project. Projects like these are what make our students different than UW-Madison or some out of state school; they give our students the chance to have real life experiences while positively affecting communities.

I know the final budget and cuts are being finished but I would like to challenge our state legislator and our country to think about the impact education has on our country’s future. I would also like to ask that the deans, chancellors, presidents, etc. to explain why they thought this cut would be beneficial verses cutting percentages of budgets in untouched areas? I love our university, state, country, world…we, as students, can make a difference if given the chance.

11/10/15: Dear Chancellor Service, Budget can be saved through energy saving in official buildings.
Everybody can help to decline energy costs. Energy saving in daily live is not as common practiced as in Germany.
Encourage students to save energy. Many little steps help to make a huge progress.
not open the window and turn on the heating at the same time.
shut off the lights if one leaves the room or goes to bed.
for new Fridges, get energy efficient ones.
Shut down electric items instead of running them on stand by.
Remove battery charger from the sockets if it is not needed anymore.
If you cook something, use a coverage for your pot, and use a pot that fits your cooking plate.
Wear a pullover in winter instead of heating your room up to 80 °F
In Germany, Solar cells are install on roofs to provide the buildings hot water supply. I hope my opinion can contribute to the progress of our university.

General Public Responses/Questions:

Faculty & Staff Responses/Questions:

9/25/15: Hearing about people possibility being laid off is a terrible alternative. It creates a scary work environment that divides lines among co-workers, departments and bosses further. Plus, certain tasks are misinterpreted as expendable, when they could actually be a key component to helping the whole university get through this. My suggestion is to cut salaries by percentages. Pay cuts instead of layoffs. Most people would accept a cut in salary if they still get to keep their job and benefits and don't have to move their family, and that could create a sense of camaraderie that we are ALL in this together. Productivity and teamwork could increase on all levels. It could give everyone a sense of purpose. Here are the proposed rates:

Employee Salary --> pay cut %

$1-$50,000 --> 1%

$50,001 - $60,000 --> 2%

$60,001 - $70,000 --> 3%

$70,001 - $80,000 --> 4%

$80,001 - $90,000 --> 5%

$100,001 - $125,000 --> 7%

$125,001 - $150,000 --> 9%

$150,001 - $175,000 --> 11%

$175,001 - $200,000 --> 13%

$200,001 - $300,000 --> 15%

$300,001 - $500,000 --> 18%

$500,001 - higher --> 20%

Look at all the salaries and do the math. It only works if everyone gets a cut. Maybe this could help all of us and save UW-Platteville.

10/6/15: Here are three budget recommendations:

1. Cut Interim Vice Chancellor for External Relations position.

2. Have the current Associate Director and Coordinator of Graduate Programs for the School of Education return to full time teaching in Sociology. This person is currently serving in an administrative function through the School of Education.

3. Eliminate the Distinguished Lecturer series.

10/7/15: As someone who has attended MCIC and participated in other diversity training initiatives at UW-Platteville, and who lived for years in very urban surroundings, I appreciate the value of multiple perspectives and experiences that result from a diverse campus environment.

So it pains me greatly to say that I think the university should defund the VC/Chief Diversity Officer position and redistribute the reporting entities to other positions. As important as diversity is, I think the existing initiatives will function well enough in the short term without VC-level leadership. The $110,000 price tag of this position is money that should redirected to shoring up other facets of the budget which represent a more existential threat to the university’s future.

Here’s another idea, totally different topic: As fleet vehicles age out and come up for replacement, take a look at hybrid and electric vehicles (where it makes sense), and alternative fuels. Local fleet vehicles, lawn mowers, and other utility machinery which run on gasoline, for example, and which are always refueled at the physical plant, could be converted to run on natural gas or propane. Both these fuels represent significant savings over gasoline, even given the relative bargain of today’s gasoline prices. Both have the benefit of lower greenhouse gas and other emissions, and both contribute to longer engine life, as well. Propane and natural gas injection systems are even available for diesel engines.

Last item: This requires an investment, but think about it: UW-Platteville has, I’ll bet, acres of rooftops which are ideal locations for solar panels. Cutting power consumption from the grid (and probably selling some power back in the summer months) saves on energy costs…plus, it reduces the university’s carbon footprint, and sets a good example of sustainable practice for our students.