Vice Chancellor of Admissions Darrell Bazzell, Assistant to Chancellor Don Nelson and Dean of Students Lori Berquam responded to an ASM request to have input on the Badger Partnership at the open forum section of the Associated Students of Madison meeting Wednesday night.
The Badger Partnership is a proposal from Chancellor Biddy Martin to gain more autonomy for the university from other UW schools in the state.
Bazzell said the Badger Partnership would allow the university to have more control over tuition prices, construction, salaries and procurement of goods and services.
The Resolution for a Democratic Badger Partnership states that ASM wants to be included and informed on what happens between the state government and the university administration with relation to the Badger Partnership.
ASM Representative Jonah Zinn, who proposed this resolution, said he thinks university administration should have given students more concrete details regarding the Badger Partnership before now.
""Frankly, it's not fair to keep students in the dark for this long,"" Zinn said.
Nelson said students have not been included in the conversation before now because specifics have not yet been discussed.
Bazzell said the administration has to wait until the governor drafts a proposal for funding for the university before discussing it with the governor, and a tuition increase is seemingly inevitable.
""I don't see a pathway that allows us to maintain our excellence that does not have tuition as a component,"" he said.
Also at the meeting, ASM discussed the proposed Open Government Act.
This act states that if 100 students sign a petition for a change in ASM bylaws, one member of the petition will be granted the right to debate while the student council is debating the bylaw change.
ASM Representative Sarah Neibart was in favor of the proposal.
""I think that if students come together and think change is important, at least one should have speaking rights,"" she said.
ASM Representative Jasmine Savoy said more than 100 students should be required to sign the petition to ensure students are serious about the proposal.
Both the Resolution for a Democratic Badger Partnership and the Open Government Act will be discussed at ASM's meeting next Wednesday.
This article has been edited from its original version. It originally misattributed a statement from Rep. Jasmine Savoy to Rep. Aliyya Terry. The Cardinal regrets the error.
