Wisconsin University Administration released third-party report report on its finances Monday, announcing plans for how it can better and more effectively 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 declared the system’s $855 million budget request a failure — even though system Chairman Jay Rothman agreed with Republican demands changes in the system’s diversity, equity and inclusion policies.

“Right now, Wisconsin universities rank 43rd out of 50 states in the country in terms of public support for our universities,” Rothman said Sunday on WISN’s UpFront. “The $855 million puts us at the average, at the median. For me, in the context of a long period where universities have not been invested, this is a reasonable request.

The release of consulting firm Deloitte’s report on the system’s administration finances comes after similar reviews of the finances of the University of Wisconsin’s 12 schools outside of UW-Madison. Ten of those schools are operating at a deficit as budget support from the state government has declined and enrollment numbers have declined. Only the Madison, La Crosse and Stout campuses are expected to generate enough revenue 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 ended in 2022 and earlier this year, the regents approved the second tuition increase in two. years.

“The independent third-party review that is now complete complements our strategic plan, adopted by the Board of Directors two years ago,” Rothman said in a statement. “This gives us insight into how to best deliver unprecedented educational opportunities to 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 of clearly stating what its goals are so that campus leaders can plan effectively.

There is a need to improve system-wide accountability, while still making room for the unique identity and culture of each campus, because Wisconsin universities are the sum of their parts, which ultimately add up to single 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 regarding investment in operations and/or strategic priorities,” the report states. “UW universities would benefit from a strategic roadmap covering administrative, operational, technological, programmatic and enrollment initiatives.”

Efforts to address the system’s financial problems have already been underway, with the closure of a number of branch campuses across the state and the layoffs of faculty and staff at several universities.

The release of each campus’ financial reports in April attracted concerns Teachers and students said the system would rely on austerity measures to balance the budget, hurting their jobs and educational opportunities, when the real cause of the difficulties is a lack of support financial that the system obtained in the state budget.

Monday’s report recommends that system administration provide greater oversight over the creation and management of academic programs, noting that the number of programs on the 12 non-Madison campuses has increased by nearly 7 percent while the number of bachelor’s degrees awarded has decreased by more than 9%. . The report says system administration should set clear benchmarks for what a program’s success means and better determine whether a program should be refined, invested in, combined across campuses or closed.

“While the creation and management of academic programs should be the responsibility of each university’s faculty governance, the UW Administrator should be responsible for creating transparent policies and processes to provide necessary data to the Council of regents to fulfill its role of 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 managing enrollment, creating a task force to evaluate low-enrollment programs, strengthening accountability standards financial and providing “more efficient services to customers”. targeted shared services.

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