UW-Madison officials say providing the large amounts of money asked for by the state may not have an immediate impact on students, as most of this money will come from reserve funds.
According to Darrell Bazzell, UW-Madison vice chancellor, the state asked for a total of $2.2 million from UW-Madison for financial aid after Gov. Jim Doyle signed the 2009-'10 state budget.
The idea is to help keep pace and offset the increased tuition costs,"" he said.
Many UW-Madison organizations, like the Wisconsin Union, University Housing, University Health Services and Recreational Sports, are responsible for providing these funds.
Officials from these organizations, however, say the impact may not be as substantial as many would predict.
According to Sarah Van Orman, director of UHS, backup funds will be enough to cover these costs. She said while the impacts of these cuts will not be felt for several years, UHS still plans to act conservatively.
""I don't think students are going to see any changes next year,"" she said. ""But we will try to prioritize so we can make sure we maintain essential services in the long run.""
According to Bazzell, many other UW-Madison organizations are facing similar situations as UHS and will be relying on reserve money to cover the costs of the state budget.
""For the next years most [organizations] have established their budgets,"" he said. ""But there was some money that wasn't spent - reserve money, which will be enough in the short term.""
He said in the future, these organizations will lose nonreserve money and may be forced to raise student fees.
According to documents received through the state's open records law, among the $2.2 million UW-Madison will pay to the state, $494,000 will come from University Housing, $397,000 from the Wisconsin Union and $237,000 from UHS.
