Governor Doyle is asking state legislators to invest $225 million into it's UW system. the governor says the state's 26 institutions are unable to take in all the students who want to join nursing, engineering and teaching professions and that problem could lead to a shortage in the near future.

The funding will be distributed between all 26 schools in the UW system, with the largest chunk likely staying right here in Madison. It's money that will be used to create more seats in programs that are seeing shortages in the real world, like nursing.

Caitlin Joyce says, "I grew up always wanting to be with patients, helping my community." joyce is one of about 150 students to be accepted to the UW Madison nursing program. She knew it would be competitive so she worked hard and took on several leadership roles, but knows there are several hundred applicants a year who weren't as lucky. Joyce says, "I've heard of older students that have a 4.0 GPA, all the leadership positions they could possibly have, everything they could have done to get into the program and they just don't get in."

That's why Governor Doyle is proposing to increase funding in the UW system by more than 200 million dollars through 20-14. Governor Doyle says, "This investment creates more seats for incoming students, it builds on our top ranking research abilities and it educates more nurses, teachers and engineers, improving our state and fueling our economy."

President of the UW System Kevin Reilly says, "Those are the kinds of jobs and salaries we want for the future in Wisconsin so our kids don't need to go to Minneapolis or Chicago or LA or NY or Hong Kong or Singapore to earn a decent living over the course of their career."

It's an investment the governor wants to make a top priority. Doyle says, "This is critical funding that campuses will need to remain strong, so critical that if the legislature does not approve it, buildings may have to close, staff and faculty be lost and fewer students will fill our classrooms."

Meaning students like Caitlin Joyce might not be able to fulfill their dreams.

The legislation would create space for about 130 teaching, 320 engineering and 130 nursing students statewide, a handful of those in Madison. The money would also be earmarked for things such as payroll and lighting costs at some of the schools.