The childcare services currently on-campus in Sundquist and Hawkes Hall will soon have to move off campus as plans to tear down and renovate the two buildings are underway.

Currently, external companies contracted with the school provide childcare services at the University of Wisconsin-Superior. Students are allowed a $500 stipend to help with the costs of keeping a child enrolled in the center full time.

According to Tammy Fanning, the Assistant Dean of Students, the school has decided to extend the subsidy program to the three other childcare centers in the area.

New Horizons, currently in Sundquist, is not being closed down, but the building is coming down in July 2011.

“Students will have five choices now instead of only two, and the subsidy program will still be continued on,” says Fanning.

The subsidy program currently provides $250 for each child enrolled in either of the day care centers at UW-Superior. Talks are underway to figure out a plan for when the subsidy fund of about $20,000 runs out.

Lucas Ruffi, a speech Communications major graduating next December has used the child care center in the past, and enjoyed the convenience of having it right on campus. He does however contend that it was quite expensive, “It was about $500 a month even with the subsidy,”

Cassie Roemhildt, a double major in Business Administration and Marketing, currently in her senior year at UW-Superior has had a hard time getting her kids enrolled at the center.

”I wanted to bring my kids there because of the convenience and inexpensive costs as well as the structure. I could not find any information on the school website or even on Google,” Roemhildt said.

Currently the UW-Superior website only uses the term “child care” rather than “day care” as the two have different meanings.

Day care, according to Fanning is “hanging out and playing” whereas childcare is “more educational and developmental learning”.

The two terms are used interchangeably however, and this IT glitch issue will soon be fixed.

Apart from having trouble finding information about the center online, Roemhildt has not been able to enroll her child in the daycare thus far.

“I go to an in-home daycare right now,” says Roemhildt. “And I feel the provider cancels on us a lot. I missed two classes my first week of school and its hard to find a back-up sitter.”

“I was suppose to start in the University childcare August of 2009, after being on the waiting list for quite a few months and then I call in June of 2009 and they say ‘Oh I'm sorry didn't any one tell you that we will no longer be affiliated with the school?’ I was shocked. I had two months to find childcare for my two year old,” Roemhildt said.

Ruffi, who is part of the Gender Equity Committee that is helping to steer this transition, understands the reasoning behind the move but also feels that it would be better to have it on campus.

“Other campuses such as UW-Whitewater, have a building dedicated to child care,” says Ruffi. “If you have say, one afternoon class it would be easier to be able to drop your child there if you can’t find a baby sitter in time.”

Students are welcome to contact Tammy Fanning, 715-395-8243, or Eri Fuijieda, 715-394-8292, if they have any further questions or concerns on the issue.