While the state granted the system greater flexibility this year in its biennial budget, a committee of Regents and chancellors said the system would still benefit from more flexibility.
The Ad Hoc Work Group on UW System Structure and Governance is recommending the board "seek full authority to set tuition and manage the system's financial and human resources, capital projects, and procurement activities."
Faced with over $300 million in proposed cuts to the system from the state within the next two years, the group said giving the Regents more control of resources would allow them to be allocated more efficiently.
"Heavy external regulation runs counter to the establishment of the most effective type of university system," the report said. "Regulation has limited the ability of the Board of Regents to govern the UW System and of the UW institutions to fulfill their public purpose in serving the citizens of the state."
The group also studied whether it would be beneficial for individual universities to have their own governing boards and concluded that while individual campuses could benefit from institutional-level advisory boards, the Regents should maintain governing power.
The institutional-level advisory boards would help campuses by advocating for the specific campus' needs and advising the chancellor.
"Only when the Board of Regents gains much greater authority for management and leadership decision-making does the Work Group believe it would be worthwhile to discuss possible delegation of a greater degree of authority from the Board to institution-level councils," the report said.
Additionally, the group said the UW system should increase communication with non-UW higher education institutions, such as technical colleges and private not-for-profit colleges and K-12 schools.
The communication could improve areas such as transfer policies and college readiness statewide.
"Communication and collaboration can advance UW System institutions' ability to advance their missions," the group said.
