The University of Wisconsin System could face a combined budget cut of up to $174 million under Gov. Jim Doyle’s proposed 2009-11 budget, which would lead to a possible 5 to 6 percent tuition hike for students and cutbacks across the system.

“It is naive to assume that any campus will be immune to the negative effects of this budget,” said David Giroux, spokesperson for the UW System. “You might see fewer class sections, fewer classes offered, staff positions remaining vacant forcing others to take on bigger loads.”

Giroux added the proposed budget includes “extraordinary financial aid measures” to help students who cannot afford the tuition increase.

Due to an extra $38 million in financial aid funds, students who come from families making less than $60,000 a year are guaranteed to receive enough aid to offset the recommended 5 to 6 percent increase.

The recommended increase is similar to the tuition hike included in the last biennial budget, but Giroux said due to the economic downturn, it is important to preserve current rates for the students from lower- and middle-income families.

“If we were to allow students to step out of college because they could not afford it, we would begin a downward cycle that would make our economic cycle even worse. We need to send the message now more than ever … that we understand their situation, we appreciate their challenge, and we are taking steps to make college affordable,” Giroux said.

UW-Madison Budget Office Director Tim Norris said it is not yet known exactly how the cuts may affect UW-Madison specifically, but the proposed budget does outline programs to preserve the university’s educational experience.

He said this includes funding for recruitment and retention of faculty, and building projects such as the Wisconsin Institute and Bioenergy Initiative.

“The quality of the educational experience here starts with the educational faculty,” Norris said.

Sen. Fred Risser, D-Madison, said he supports increased funding for financial aid and other projects on campuses as he believes education should be one of the state’s priorities.

“The governor indicated in his speech that his top priority was education. While he was going to be cutting a number of things, he was going to be protecting education,” Risser said.

He added that with the increase, UW will still rank in the lower half of the Big Ten for tuition rates.

Sen. Glenn Grothman, R-West Bend, expressed concern about the increase in aid.

“We have a crisis in this state for Wisconsin employers and Wisconsin employees. Quite frankly, we cannot afford even small increases in most programs, much less a 30 percent increase in aid, and in the end, we are continuing a spiral of less business and more government of which the university is a part.”

Overall, Giroux emphasized the UW System has a difficult task ahead of itself.

“[UW System campuses are] struggling to participate in what is going to be a very difficult balancing act,” Giroux said. “They’re planning dramatic changes that will really affect educational experiences.”