Newly released reports from Deloitte raise questions about the UW system’s financial viability and suggest more cuts are likely for some campuses in the coming years, according to the Milwaukee Journal Sentinel. UW paid Deloitte $2.8 million to assess its individual campuses’ financial health.
The reports highlight the financial forces facing most UW campuses and their reliance on reserves to cover years of budget deficits; none, however, raise the possibility of closure or consolidation.
Some universities are struggling to remain financially sustainable amid declining enrollment, growing concerns about college affordability, and flat state funding in the most recent budget.
The nonpartisan Wisconsin Policy Forum ranked Wisconsin’s four-year university system 43rd nationwide in per-pupil funding; it would take another $440 million annually to achieve the nationwide median level of funding.
