Hey guys!
Because of Scott Walker’s huge budget cuts in the education system a lot of things will change for UW. Right off the bat, OOS tuition is increasing by $10,000 spread over 4 years. I was wondering what other effects the budget cuts might cause and specifically in the sciences/ biochem major.
Just like another poster recently, I am deciding between Oberlin and UW. I am definitely leaning towards UW because of the price, but if the budget cuts are going to do what i’ve heard (increase class sizes, lay off professors, and possibly abolish tenor) all while tuition is increasing - I might have to rethink my options.
First of all, the cuts haven’t passed yet, so calm down.
I believe the Regents did pass the first two years of a proposed 4-year increase in non-resident undergraduate tuition.
Tenure won’t change. There will be relatively small reduction in classes–mostly in those with too few students to be economic. No regular profs will be subject to layoffs. Some adjuncts and support staff will be.
Becky Blank’s updates have said cuts will be in staff, not faculty. They are looking at shrinking or consolidating some support functions (Blank identified IT specifically). The same update said some of the cuts could affect advising and class size, so that sounds like number of advisors in departments, colleges etc – right now, my son can do drop-in advising any day, and gets a 24 hour turn around or emails to his major and Honors advisors. These are non-teaching staff who assist students with course selection etc. As for class size, I am guessing, that would relate to the number of TAs for lecture classes, so discussion group size could increase. My kid’s discussion groups range from about 15-25 students presently. Don’t know if the 15 ones will go up to 20 or the 22 ones go up to 25. Will have to wait and see.
There will be no changes to tenure, certainly. That is huge challenge for any school and UW has not said it is remotely contemplating anything like that.
Tuition for OOS next year is $28.5k, as a current OOS parent, we already received an email about it. Same email said it would be $31.5 k for '16-17.
It is tenure, not tenor. And the former won’t be abolished, for numerous reasons. UW will likely retain its unique tenor as well 
If you are contemplating bio-sciences or biochem, I might suggest UW even if the costs were the same, or even slightly more expensive than Oberlin. Those disciplines at UW are some of the very best in the entire country; Oberlin simply cannot match the depth, resources or research opportunities available at UW. And those classes probably will not be affected very much, as UW is well aware of their outstanding offerings in those areas. Thus they would likely be earmarked as both necessary and worthy of great attention during these tumultuous state deliberations (and yes, please keep in mind that the Walker budget proposals have not yet passed, and the opposition is substantial).
If anything, I might foresee in the future for those particular majors – if they are affected at all by the upcoming budgets, which may not be the case – could become a little more difficult to be accepted into. I don’t think the quality of instruction or educational experience will diminish. Also, Oberlin is a fine school, but it excels in certain areas and not all. And for areas where it does excel, it is particularly recommended for those who can afford it without struggling financially.
Alright, thanks everyone! I was a bit intimidated after reading this article http://m.huffpost.com/us/entry/7109164 but now I feel better.Lets just cross our fingers that the size of the cuts will be minimized!
@anhydrite - Thanks for your feedback on the bio-sciences/ biochem disciplines. The reason I chose UW in the first place was because of the offerings in those disciplines, and its seems likely that they wont change much. UW does seem superior over Oberlin for my case, and I believe I will enroll. The only thing holding me back now is my distaste for the pervasive football and basketball culture with the offshoots of Thursday to Sunday partying and drinking, but I think the advantages greatly outweigh the disadvantages. Anyway, at least ill be able to listen to a good tenor there 