December 18, 2025-Academic Planning and Budget Committee (APBC)-Minutes

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Location:  Lubar N440

Present:           M. Boehm, T. Boyer, D. Counts, A. Follmer, T. Freiburger,
R. Jens, P. Klajbor, H. Ouali, T. Nation, M. Newman, J. Roberts, G. Rodger, D. Romain Dagenhardt, J. Wilcoxen, K. Woodward,

Absent:             P. Hinow, J. Kibicho,

Guests:             Provost A. Daire, D. Knab

  1. Call to order-The meeting was called to order at 9:04 a.m.
  2. Approval of the minutes from November 6, 2025 meeting-The minutes were approved as submitted via auto consent.
  3. Chairs’ Update-The committee attended the Budget Transparency meeting on December 10.  The chairs were happy to see so many were able to make that budget meeting in addition to the regularly scheduled meeting of the APBC. 
  4. Provost’s Update-The provost was unable to give his report due to the discussion about the budget.  He will give an update to the committee after the Winter Break.
  5. Budget Overview and Review of Budget Meetings-D. Knab gave an updated review of the budget to the committee.Budget Overview and Review of Budget Meetings-D. Knab gave an updated review of the budget to the committee. 
    1. The Chancellor has been briefed on the budget and where the planning is at currently. 
    1. The final information with revisions will go to the Colleges/schools after winter break in January. 
    1. UWM’s highest costs overall are in “people” such as salaries and fringe costs. 
    1. The assumptions when building the budget have not changed.  The only change going into finalizing the budget may be with Graduate Student revenue as changes to those enrollments have been different than expected.  This will help college/schools plan their budget for finalization. 
    • The Chancellor has been briefed on the budget and where the planning is at currently. The final information with revisions will go to the Colleges/schools after winter break in January. UWM’s highest costs overall are in “people” such as salaries and fringe costs. The assumptions when building the budget have not changed.  The only change going into finalizing the budget may be with Graduate Student revenue as changes to those enrollments have been different than expected.  This will help college/schools plan their budget for finalization. 
    • Strategic initiatives and planning for 2030 (and beyond) will look at changes to demographics, enrollment declines, retention initiatives, and other challenges UWM may face. 
    • D. Clark may be able to bring back ideas from the 2030 planning committee that will give goals that the campus is working toward.
  6. Budget Meeting from 12/10 review/questions-The Budget Transparency meeting was good, and the committee felt more meetings like this would be helpful across campus/platforms. 
    • Better messaging would be helpful so that specific schools/areas do not feel targeted. 
    • Special circumstances or goals could be highlighted to show where improvements have been made or are being made to offset negative information about programs. 
    • Cost per student allocation would be an excellent discussion for Spring 2026.  Especially to include resource allocation and 2030 objectives when D. Clark comes.
  7. Adjournment-The meeting adjourned at 10:45 a.m.