The UW System Board of Regents discussed several models to increase access for low-income students to system schools Thursday, including a plan that would require students to take a pledge of good behavior in high school and one that would repay loans, provided a graduate remain in Wisconsin.
The 'pledge' strategy offsets tuition and fees for low-income students who pledge in high school that they will attain a certain grade point average and stay out of trouble.
The 'loan forgiveness' program would repay $2,000 of a student's loan each year for four years after graduation if they stay in Wisconsin after graduation.
Strategies include a 'need-based' plan, which covers all the costs of attendance, including housing, while eliminating student debt in the process. It includes a work-study requirement.
Finally, the 'large state grant' program constitutes an increase to the existing Wisconsin higher education grant program while the 'hold-harmless' plan would insulate low-income students from tuition increases.
Freda Harris, associate vice president of Budget and Planning called this program a 'brain gain' strategy.
'Loan repayment and loan forgiveness encourage students to graduate and be successfully employed in the state,' she said.
On the other hand, UW System President Kevin Reilly highlighted simpler plans like the pledge system and noted the notion of being debt-free after college is a big draw for students and families.
'The clearer the message, the more effect it seems to have,' he said.
The discussion of hiring practices centered on a perceived need to make hiring more competitive by offering a more secure contract system. System General Council Pat Brady discussed creating a 'hybrid system,' mixing limited appointments with fixed contracts, a practice she said is currently in use for athletic coaches.
UW-Madison Chancellor John Wiley stressed the importance of recruiting talented personnel.
'No university, not even the smallest one, can run with faculty only. They need all kinds of specialists,' Wiley said.
Some UW System chancellors think the legislature has too much sway over education in the state, a perception that has reportedly spilled over into other parts of the country.
Vicki Lord Larson, interim chancellor at UW-Eau Claire, said her colleagues in the education field have equated becoming employed in the UW System with 'killing their careers.'
Regent Thomas Loftus added that it is a widely held view in the legislature that the system is elitist.
All plans for changes to tuition, financial aid and hiring policy are in their preliminary stages and will be discussed further during February's meeting.
