(Published Saturday, September 22, 2007 12:26:04 AM CST)
A d v e r t i s e m e n t
It's great news that UW-Whitewater wants to expand UW-Rock County's course offerings toward education degrees.
It's doubtful that UW-Rock students could ever earn full teaching degrees without leaving the Janesville campus. But the more coursework that students can complete here toward such degrees, the better.
Now, students who plan to major in education can complete two years of studies at UW-Rock. Many of those students transfer to UW-Whitewater to eventually earn their degrees.
That only makes sense. Whitewater is only 18 miles up the road, and UW-Whitewater has been a leader in training teachers since opening in the late 1860s as Wisconsin's second State Normal School. The university produces about 300 first-time licensed teachers per year, more than any other UW campus. It also issues about 150 more licenses as either add-ons or to people who already have degrees.
Officials are still working out details. But UW-Whitewater will ask the UW Board of Regents to approve a new education teaching position. That person would teach at UW-Rock and elsewhere, perhaps Madison Area Technical College and UW-Waukesha.
Why does Whitewater want to expand educational studies in Janesville?
"The interest in UW-Rock County is not at all based on 'tight' space at UW-Whitewater," UW-W College of Education Dean Jeffrey Barnett explained Wednesday afternoon by e-mail. "It is simply based on what is best and most convenient for students attending UW-Rock County."
To that end, UW-Rock Dean Diane Pillard says the new course likely would be offered in late afternoon or early evening. That would appeal to nontraditional students who already work or are raising families. It also would ease crowding at the Janesville campus, a squeeze that will be lessened when workers finish an expansion now under way.
It also might reduce the problem of students who start studies at Janesville but never earn degrees. If they can start a fifth semester or perhaps eventually a full third year closer to home, they might be more inclined to transfer for a shorter period to UW-Whitewater to get those degrees.
"It's a lot easier if it's in your own backyard, and it's the same education," Pillard told the Gazette in a story Wednesday.
With shortages of math, science and special education teachers and those teaching bilingual courses, a teaching degree can be rewarding.
More classes toward an education degree, the full engineering degree through UW-Platteville that UW-Rock started offering this fall and the expansion that will include a new library will make the Janesville campus an even more attractive option for more students.
The news is good for the universities and communities of Janesville and Whitewater and for students exploring options for higher education.
