The preview Cross gave on Monday did not specify how the new funding would be allocated if lawmakers include it, or how it would be distributed among UW campuses. Officials say they are still working on the specifics of their request.

But it does provide a sense of what UW will ask of legislators in the coming months — namely, an end to years of budget cuts that Cross notes has seen state funding for higher education, when adjusted for inflation, fall to its lowest point since the system was founded in the 1970s.

“It’s time to invest,” Cross said.

He acknowledged that the requested increase for 2017-19 would gain back only a fraction of the funding that has been lost over years of budget cuts.

Still, he said the new funding would help UW campuses invest in areas such as advising where many institutions have cut back in recent years, and aims to ensure more graduates stay in the state by connecting them with businesses.

It would also address the issue of college affordability better than a tuition freeze, according to Cross, by bolstering efforts to reduce the time it takes to get a degree, such as dual-enrollment programs that let students earn college credit while they’re still in high school.