(Published Friday, January 26, 2007 11:33:10 AM CST)
A d v e r t i s e m e n t
By Frank Schultz Gazette staff
The new boss of the UW System's littlest campuses has big ideas.
David Wilson was appointed chancellor of both the UW Colleges and the UW Extension less than a year ago. He's considering changes that he believes will help older students as well as the state's economy.
Wilson visited one of his campuses-UW-Rock County in Janesville-on Thursday. He met with students, staff, representatives of Forward Janesville and news reporters.
Wilson said he wants UW-Rock and its 12 sister campuses to offer classes at times and places that are more convenient for older adults. High schools, community centers and sites run by technical colleges are possibilities, he said.
"I certainly am embracing, at the highest level, maximum access. That is what our two statewide institutions-the UW Colleges and UW Extension-will be about," he said.
David Wilson
Collaboration with schools such as Blackhawk Technical College could be part of that broader access in a way that avoids duplication of services, he said.
"I think there's a wonderful opportunity for the UW Colleges and the Wisconsin Technical College System to collaborate. I think it's a wonderful opportunity for UW-Rock County and Blackhawk Technical College to engage in collaborative programming as well," Wilson said.
One model would be a "one-plus-one" arrangement in which students would spend a year at Blackhawk Tech learning technical skills and then a year at UW-Rock, taking liberal arts studies, all leading to an associate degree, Wilson suggested.
Wilson praised the agreements that UW-Rock has with various four-year campuses to provide bachelor's degrees locally, and he wants more of that.
Wilson said he plans to announce a reorganization of the UW Colleges/UW Extension administration in the next few days. It will involve losing seven senior administrative positions and plowing the $1.1 million savings into other programs.
Money is on Wilson's mind. He called the UW System "under-funded"
Wilson would like to cut tuition at the UW System's two-year campuses to put them more in line with the state's technical colleges, but he doesn't think that's realistic.
The two-year campuses remain the cheapest in the UW System, but tuition has skyrocketed in recent years, just as it has at the four-year schools.
Nevertheless, Wilson wants to increase the numbers of state residents who are able to attend campuses like UW-Rock. He is hoping that the governor's 2007-09 budget will include his "adult student initiative."
Some of that money would pay for new positions in the county offices of the UW Extension. Those new workers would encourage and help working adults go back to school to get bachelor's degrees.
The initiative would cost $800,000 in the first year and about $1.9 million in the second year. The result would be to get about 1,000 adults on the road to earning bachelor's degrees.
Wilson said he is well aware that funding is largely in the hands of lawmakers.
"We are basically saying to the state: It's time to reinvest, because if we are to achieve that goal of a knowledge-based economy, if we are to achieve that goal of making our state more innovative in a way that will lead to higher-paying jobs, the gateway is education," he said.
Future plans
Chancellor David Wilson is working with a long list of recommendations for the future of the UW Colleges. His Commission on Enhancing the Mission of the UW Colleges issued its report last month.
Wilson said his top priorities from among the commission's recommendations are:
-- Working to offer courses outside the traditional 14-week structure. Surveys show that older students want courses to last six or eight weeks, he said. The time it takes to get a degree could be accelerated as well, he said.
-- Making courses available in a variety of new locations to increase convenience.
-- Moving more aggressively to offer more online courses.
-- Studying a recommendation to give the UW Colleges a "selective" authority to grant bachelor's degrees. Now, the colleges may offer only two-year associate degrees.
