SB355: Bill Text

SB355,3,8 5. “Institution” has the meaning given in s. 36.05 (9).

SB355,3,9 6. “System” has the meaning given in s. 36.05 (12).

SB355,3,10 (b) Subject to par. (f), there is created in the system a blue ribbon commission.

SB355,3,11 (c) The blue ribbon commission shall consist of the following members:

SB355,3,12 1. The president of the system or his or her designee.

SB355,3,16 2. Four members who are faculty of institutions or college campuses that are underserved or undergoing significant programmatic changes as identified by the system under s. 36.67 (5), appointed by the shared governance body representing faculty of the institution or college campus.

SB355,3,20 3. Four members who are academic staff of institutions or college campuses that are underserved or undergoing significant programmatic changes as identified by the system under s. 36.67 (5), appointed by the shared governance body representing academic staff of the institution or college campus.

SB355,3,22 4. Four members who are students enrolled in the system, appointed by the system student representatives.

SB355,3,23 5. One member who is a higher education expert, appointed by the board.

SB355,3,25 6. One member who is a workforce development expert, appointed by the governor.

SB355,4,3 7. One majority and one minority party senator and one majority and one minority party representative to the assembly, appointed as are the members of standing committees in their respective houses.

SB355,4,7 (d) Members of the commission shall serve for a term expiring on December 31, 2022, or when the report under s. 36.67 (4) is submitted, whichever occurs first, except that if the commission is renewed under par. (f), each term shall continue during any period of renewal.

SB355,4,10 (e) No member of the commission may receive any salary for services performed as a commission member. Each commission member shall be reimbursed for actual and necessary expenses incurred while performing official duties.

SB355,4,15 (f) The commission shall terminate upon the commission's submission of the report under s. 36.67 (4), unless the governor renews the commission for an additional period of 2 years. The governor may thereafter continue to renew the commission for additional 2-year periods or allow the commission to terminate upon the expiration of any renewal period.

SB355,5 Section 5. 36.67 of the statutes is created to read:

SB355,4,18 36.67 Blue ribbon commission. (1) In this section, “commission" means the blue ribbon commission created under s. 15.915 (4).

SB355,4,19 (2) The commission shall study, and facilitate discussion of, all of the following:

SB355,4,20 (a) A public agenda for higher education.

SB355,4,21 (b) A set of long-term goals and priorities for higher education.

SB355,4,22 (c) Accessibility and affordability of higher education.

SB355,4,23 (3) The commission shall do all of the following:

SB355,4,24 (a) Define the goals of higher education for this state.

SB355,5,2 (b) Identify strengths to continue and expand, and weaknesses that need to improve, in this state's institutions of higher education.

SB355,5,4 (c) Identify demographic trends that will affect all institutions of higher education in this state.

SB355,5,6 (d) Identify a new funding structure or new revenue streams for the University of Wisconsin System.

SB355,5,8 (e) Identify new ways to administer financial aid for institutions of higher education.

SB355,5,10 (f) Offer recommendations to encourage and develop innovations among institutions of higher education, whether public or private.

SB355,5,12 (g) Offer recommendations to encourage and develop partnerships between institutions of higher education, both public and private.

SB355,5,15 (h) Offer recommendations to encourage more students to seek higher education, including identifying how student debt and the cost of tuition play a part in student decisions.

SB355,5,18 (i) Study the success rate of programs designed to increase retention in this state's work force of individuals receiving degrees from institutions of higher education in this state.

SB355,5,20 (j) Study the success rate of programs designed to increase accessibility of higher education in this state.

SB355,5,22 (k) Study the feasibility of establishing a state program to provide debt-free college education to all Wisconsin residents.

SB355,5,25 (4) Not later than December 31, 2022, the commission shall submit a report to the chief clerk of each house of the legislature for distribution to the legislature under s. 13.172 (2) that includes the information described in sub. (3).

SB355,6,3 (5) Under direction of the president, the system shall identify all institutions and college campuses that are underserved or undergoing significant programmatic changes.

SB355,6,4 (End)