Contact: Dale Schultz 800.978.8008
Madison — A plan to offer four-year degrees at University of Wisconsin Colleges is “student and taxpayer friendly”, according to State Senator Dale Schultz (R-Richland Center).
“Wisconsin needs more workers with four-year degrees to compete in a global economy,” Schultz said. “The affordable way to get at that goal is to re-think what we’ve been calling our ‘two-year’ colleges.”
Wisconsin has a world-class public university system, yet only 25 percent of Wisconsin adults have a four-year college degree. That’s fewer than 28 other states.
“This is about our economic future,” Schultz said. “Higher education adds wealth for individuals and for the community we call Wisconsin.”
The UW System’s 13 UW Colleges are distributed throughout the state and 98 percent of students commute rather than live on campus.
The focus for the 4-year Bachelor of Arts degree plan will be adult, place bound students.
“Adult, place-bound students can’t attend a more distant 4-year campus because they need to work, make mortgage payments and support a family,” Schultz said.
Schultz said employers he represents want the UW Board of Regents to approve the plan to start addressing a shortage of workers with college degrees.
“Our UW Colleges deliver high-quality education,” Schultz said. “We know this because UW College students that transfer to 4-year universities have high rates of success. And we know it because UW College class size averages 23 students and 82 percent of professors have a Ph.D.”
Using the UW Colleges to upgrade the state’s workforce, will, Schultz believes, make them an even more valuable asset to the state and give taxpayers an even better return on what they’ve invested in the Colleges.
