The Board of Regents met today to discuss the process of transferring credits between University of Wisconsin System and Wisconsin Technical College schools.

UW System President Katharine Lyall and UW Assistant Vice President Larry Rubin discussed the importance of having a smooth credit transfer process, especially because a main goal of the UW-WTCS partnership is to encourage the acquisition of degrees in Wisconsin.

In past years, the number of transfer students between UW and WTCS schools has steadily increased.

Lyall spoke first in the meeting, emphasizing that students transferring is not a bad thing, but something that could be warranted to aid students in obtaining a degree.

“We should look at this as a healthy sign, not as a sign that something is wrong,” Lyall said.

Rubin followed with an outline of the proposed actions to be taken to facilitate the transfer process.

“We want students to be successful in their degree initiatives,” Rubin said.

The six-point plan addressed many issues, including the acquisition of associate degrees, student knowledge of the credit transfer process and an expansion of academic programs.

The plan also proposes that all UW System schools adopt a set of general education “core” courses that transfer to all UW institutions.

In addition, the plan stresses the importance of student involvement in the process, suggesting the informative system become more accessible and are not just used when a student is actually transferring.

Accomplishing this education system would involve creating a template for the student in their contract that would outline the transfer process to the student. Doing so would help the student to learn more about the availability of programs, become more involved in the agreement and obtain more information about the courses of action.

“This encourages the student to plan early,” Rubin said.

Rubin asked for the creation of a broad-based committee that would explore and expand the access of information to transfer students. He also called for the completion of the six-point plan by fall 2004.

The plan outline was followed by a brief description of the committee that will oversee its implementation.

An academic advising group will be composed of representatives from each UW System school. This group will ensure the initiatives are implemented, talk face to face with faculty and staff at each institution and identify any problems in the process.

UW System Associate Vice President of policy analysis and research Frank Goldberg also presented a report to the regents “Achieving Operating Efficiencies” study group.

The report outlined three components of the state’s educational system that contributes to the UW System’s high national ranking as an efficient education system.

The three factors included the facts that Wisconsin has the fourth-highest graduation rate in the country; the UW System ranks eleventh in the nation for public universities that educate high school students immediately after graduation; the UW System is ranked fourteenth for six-year graduation rates at four-year public institutions.

Regent Danae Davis concluded the meeting with a comment on the current feelings of the public and media towards the board, specifically in light of the unscheduled meeting that discussed executive pay increases.

“Have we made mistakes? Absolutely. Will we make more in the future? Absolutely. Small mistakes have been blown out of proportion,” Davis said. “Let’s not lose focus on what is most important to the state.”

In the education committee meeting that followed the board meeting, the proposition passed. It will be voted on by the board in Friday’s meetings.