WEBVTT 00:00.000 --> 00:02.000 You 00:30.000 --> 00:32.000 You 01:00.000 --> 01:02.000 You 01:30.000 --> 01:32.000 You 02:00.000 --> 02:02.000 You 02:30.000 --> 02:32.000 You 03:00.000 --> 03:02.000 You 03:30.000 --> 03:32.000 You 03:32.000 --> 03:34.000 You 03:34.000 --> 03:36.000 You 03:36.000 --> 03:38.000 You 03:38.000 --> 03:40.000 You 03:40.000 --> 03:42.000 You 03:42.000 --> 03:44.000 You 03:44.000 --> 03:46.000 You 03:46.000 --> 03:50.000 Hi, everybody. Thanks for joining us. 03:50.000 --> 03:56.000 Does everybody have recording capabilities that want them? 03:57.000 --> 04:04.000 I'm going to go ahead and record here. If there's no objections, we have Regent President. 04:04.000 --> 04:06.000 Recording in progress. 04:06.000 --> 04:14.000 Kyle Weatherly and Interim President Renee Walker with us for to discuss today's announcement. 04:14.000 --> 04:18.000 I will turn it over to them in just a moment. 04:18.000 --> 04:20.000 President Weatherly. 04:21.000 --> 04:26.000 Hey, good afternoon, everyone. Thanks a lot for making time and greetings from UW-Green Bay, 04:26.000 --> 04:30.000 where we just made this announcement in person. 04:30.000 --> 04:34.000 I'm Kyle Weatherly, President of the University of Wisconsin Board of Regents. 04:34.000 --> 04:38.000 Over the last six years, I've had the privilege of seeing firsthand how our universities change lives, 04:38.000 --> 04:42.000 strengthen communities, and prepare Wisconsin's workforce for the future. 04:42.000 --> 04:46.000 Today, we are announcing a centerpiece of the University of Wisconsin's budget proposal, 04:46.000 --> 04:52.000 a commitment to make high-quality university education more affordable and accessible for Wisconsin families. 04:52.000 --> 04:58.000 As part of that commitment, the Board of Regents is proposing a new four-year tuition pledge. 04:58.000 --> 05:04.000 Under this pledge, tuition will remain frozen for two academic years beginning in the fall of 27, 05:04.000 --> 05:10.000 provided that the state invests 190 million to support the cost of the freeze in other operating needs 05:10.000 --> 05:14.000 that preserve high-quality education. 05:14.000 --> 05:20.000 Which also the universities of Wisconsin, to limiting tuition increases in the following two years 05:20.000 --> 05:23.000 to no more than the rate of inflation. 05:23.000 --> 05:27.000 For students entering one of our universities in the fall of 27, 05:27.000 --> 05:33.000 that means four years of predictable tuition with costs that remain well below inflation. 05:33.000 --> 05:38.000 It represents an important commitment to Wisconsin families and helps ensure the University of Wisconsin 05:38.000 --> 05:41.000 remain the Midwest leader in tuition affordability. 05:41.000 --> 05:44.000 And with that, I'll turn it over to President Walker. 05:44.000 --> 05:46.000 Thank you, Regent President Weatherly. 05:46.000 --> 05:50.000 You know, over the past week, we have been traveling across Wisconsin 05:50.000 --> 05:55.000 to share the promises that we're making to the people of our state through our budget proposal. 05:55.000 --> 05:59.000 At their core, these promises are about expanding opportunity 05:59.000 --> 06:03.000 and helping Wisconsin meet the challenges and opportunities ahead. 06:03.000 --> 06:06.000 Today, we're highlighting our signature affordability promise, 06:06.000 --> 06:10.000 ensuring that every Wisconsinite has access to a high-quality, affordable, 06:10.000 --> 06:13.000 universities of Wisconsin education. 06:13.000 --> 06:17.000 The four-year tuition pledge is an important part of that commitment. 06:17.000 --> 06:22.000 But the second part of that is a new initiative called Wisconsin Work and Learn. 06:22.000 --> 06:26.000 Wisconsin Work and Learn would eliminate tuition for Wisconsin students 06:26.000 --> 06:30.000 whose families earn at or below the state's median household income. 06:30.000 --> 06:34.000 In exchange for commitment to work, internships, 06:34.000 --> 06:37.000 apprenticeships, or career preparation, 06:37.000 --> 06:40.000 students would gain a more affordable path to a degree, 06:40.000 --> 06:44.000 while Wisconsin gains the workforce our future depends on. 06:44.000 --> 06:48.000 By combining last-dollar financial aid with career-connected learning, 06:48.000 --> 06:52.000 the program helps ensure that cost is not a barrier to opportunity, 06:52.000 --> 06:56.000 while strengthening Wisconsin's economy and workforce. 06:56.000 --> 07:00.000 Together, the four-year tuition pledge and Wisconsin Work and Learn 07:00.000 --> 07:04.000 would help to ensure that the universities of Wisconsin remain the Midwest leader 07:04.000 --> 07:06.000 in tuition affordability. 07:06.000 --> 07:09.000 They would provide families with greater certainty, 07:09.000 --> 07:12.000 remove financial barriers for thousands of students, 07:12.000 --> 07:17.000 and reaffirm Wisconsin's longstanding belief that talent and hard work, 07:17.000 --> 07:22.000 not financial circumstance, should determine a student's opportunity to succeed. 07:25.000 --> 07:28.000 Thank you very much, President Walker. 07:28.000 --> 07:31.000 And now we'll turn it over for any questions. 07:31.000 --> 07:36.000 Thanks, President Weatherly. Sabina, do you want to kick us off? 07:36.000 --> 07:41.000 Yeah, thank you so much for taking some time today to speak with us. 07:41.000 --> 07:47.000 I just wanted to start by asking about this Wisconsin Work and Learn program. 07:47.000 --> 07:52.000 Could you just give us some more specifics on how this exchange 07:52.000 --> 07:57.000 for a commitment to work for internships would work for eliminating tuition, 07:57.000 --> 08:00.000 just some more specifics on that? 08:00.000 --> 08:08.000 Sure, so it is a last-dollar financial aid program connected with career learning. 08:08.000 --> 08:12.000 And so we know there'll be a work certification part of it, 08:12.000 --> 08:15.000 and it covers things like all the things that you think about 08:15.000 --> 08:18.000 that help develop our students to go out into the workforce. 08:18.000 --> 08:20.000 So that includes, you know, having an internship. 08:20.000 --> 08:25.000 If you're in education, you know, your teacher placement, your clinicals, 08:25.000 --> 08:30.000 those kinds of experiences that contribute to you being career ready. 08:30.000 --> 08:35.000 And if I can just add on to that from my personal experience, 08:35.000 --> 08:39.000 my wife graduated from UW Oshkosh 20 years ago. 08:39.000 --> 08:43.000 She came from a lower working-class family. 08:43.000 --> 08:45.000 She paid for college by herself. 08:45.000 --> 08:52.000 She worked two jobs, and she still wasn't able to fund her entire tuition 08:52.000 --> 08:54.000 and had to take out loans. 08:55.000 --> 08:57.000 It's people like my wife. 08:57.000 --> 09:02.000 I mean, she still has actual scars from where she was donating plasma to help make ends meet. 09:02.000 --> 09:06.000 So it's people like my wife that are donating plasma, 09:06.000 --> 09:12.000 that are working two jobs, and she ended up getting a 4-0 at UW Oshkosh 09:12.000 --> 09:15.000 that we're trying to help with this program. 09:19.000 --> 09:21.000 Thanks. Go ahead, Josh. 09:22.000 --> 09:23.000 Was politics. 09:23.000 --> 09:24.000 Thanks very much. 09:24.000 --> 09:29.000 I wanted to ask, you know, will this last dollar financial aid, 09:29.000 --> 09:34.000 will it be dependent on students getting internships or apprenticeships? 09:34.000 --> 09:35.000 Will they have help? 09:35.000 --> 09:40.000 And then will it cover all career paths or just a set of degrees or career paths? 09:42.000 --> 09:48.000 You know, all of our universities have career centers and oftentimes even some of that, 09:48.000 --> 09:52.000 that career guidance is within the programs themselves. 09:52.000 --> 09:58.000 And so we anticipate that our career service centers and advisors stand ready 09:58.000 --> 10:01.000 to help our students as they navigate their choices. 10:01.000 --> 10:06.000 But this is really meant to cover all students across the state of Wisconsin. 10:12.000 --> 10:13.000 Nadia, do you have a question? 10:13.000 --> 10:16.000 Yeah, I was just wondering in the past, 10:17.000 --> 10:23.000 I know there's been discussion in budget proposals about like tuition promises, 10:23.000 --> 10:25.000 those kinds of programs. 10:25.000 --> 10:28.000 How would this tuition freeze work with those? 10:28.000 --> 10:32.000 Is that something that you guys were considering would work into this at all? 10:32.000 --> 10:35.000 I would just love to make sure that I cover that base. 10:37.000 --> 10:40.000 Yeah, I mean, this is very similar to a tuition promise, 10:40.000 --> 10:48.000 but where I would describe a tuition promise as the state asking students to meet them halfway. 10:48.000 --> 10:51.000 The students are really meeting us more than halfway. 10:51.000 --> 10:52.000 They're doing most of the work. 10:52.000 --> 11:01.000 They're not only carrying a job and a full workload, but they're working on their academics as well. 11:01.000 --> 11:09.000 So we are just carrying that little bit, you know, I compare it to the last 10 yards. 11:09.000 --> 11:12.000 Of sort of fully funding their education, right? 11:12.000 --> 11:17.000 They're getting most of the way there on themselves, but we're just helping them at that very end. 11:17.000 --> 11:20.000 So as the president already said, this is a last dollar program. 11:20.000 --> 11:26.000 So this is after they've already received any Pell grants that eligible for any other scholarships that eligible for. 11:26.000 --> 11:38.000 And this just makes up the last thousand, two thousand, three thousand dollars that might be the delta between their entire tuition and having it take out loans. 11:39.000 --> 11:52.000 Hi, this is Corey. You said in the beginning that you would commit to keeping tuition frozen for the next two academic years provided the state invest 190 million. 11:52.000 --> 11:57.000 What if the state doesn't commit to that? Will there be tuition increases? 11:57.000 --> 12:00.000 Just a point of clarity. 12:01.000 --> 12:06.000 Commit to keeping any tuition increases below the inflation. 12:06.000 --> 12:15.000 So two years of a freeze funded by the state following by followed by two years that is tied to it that is going to be below inflation. 12:15.000 --> 12:19.000 Right. So this is for four years you're talking about. 12:19.000 --> 12:28.000 But again, if the if the state does not commit to this investing this money, will there then be higher tuition increases? 12:29.000 --> 12:34.000 That's part of a different process later in the later in the year at the same time. 12:34.000 --> 12:41.000 We have the same inflationary pressures that every other business, every other organization in the country is under right now. 12:41.000 --> 12:46.000 In addition to that, we need to fund our payroll increases that are set by the state. 12:46.000 --> 12:50.000 They're not set by us. So we need to meet those obligations. 12:50.000 --> 12:56.000 So even if we try to hold everything flat, our costs increased dramatically. 12:56.000 --> 13:04.000 From year to year. So while that's part of a different process, it would be very, very difficult. 13:04.000 --> 13:08.000 It would be difficult. 13:08.000 --> 13:16.000 It would be difficult to not increase tuition if the state doesn't commit to to the 190 million. 13:16.000 --> 13:18.000 Yes. 13:18.000 --> 13:22.000 Okay. Thank you. 13:22.000 --> 13:29.000 Scott of AP. 13:29.000 --> 13:31.000 Hey, thanks. Sorry. 13:31.000 --> 13:44.000 So with that in mind, do you guys have a position on who you'd like to see running state government next year? Do you think Democrats would be more amiable to this plan or have you approached either. 13:44.000 --> 13:49.000 Or have you been a candidate for governor to get their thoughts on where they fall on this? 13:49.000 --> 14:07.000 Well, we, you know, we know that the election talk is in the air, but really the last few months, we have spent most of our time and attention on, on really crafting a budget that is designed to be bold and address the state's needs, you know, really building on the legacy of the 14:07.000 --> 14:22.000 policies of Wisconsin, who's been built over several generations and as we feel very excited about how to what the difference that we can make to meet some of the greatest challenges facing the state. 14:22.000 --> 14:27.000 The things that we're talking about the promises that we're making with this budget process. 14:27.000 --> 14:34.000 Health care, advancing the Wisconsin economy and addressing affordability. 14:34.000 --> 14:51.000 We view as bipartisan or nonpartisan issues and we're excited to have conversations with all the potential future governors, potential future senators and representatives over the course of the coming months. 14:51.000 --> 15:02.000 PBS Wisconsin is somebody here from PBS Wisconsin with a question. 15:02.000 --> 15:13.000 How about 620 WTM J. 15:13.000 --> 15:20.000 And Sean, Sean, do you have a question? 15:21.000 --> 15:26.000 Okay, well, thanks everybody. I don't know if we'd be able to get through another round. So I think we'll. 15:26.000 --> 15:38.000 And here, we'll move on to one more round of interviews that we have scheduled very much appreciate your time. We'll be around to ask answer follow ups if you have them. 15:38.000 --> 15:40.000 Thanks everybody. 15:40.000 --> 15:42.000 Thank you. 15:50.000 --> 15:53.000 Thank you.