The University of Wisconsin administration is expected to cancel the e-Projects in Community Service program, a service-learning course offered at UW, after the end of this semester.

The program has seen its numbers steadily rise since its inception in fall of 2000, as 116 out of 120 spots have been filled for this semester.

According to UW engineering professor Fred Bradley, the lead coordinator for the class, the goal of ePICS is to, "solve business and technology problems for local non-profit organizations."

The program takes students from all walks of life at UW, not just engineering, with more than half of the students this semester coming from the Letters and Sciences department.

The students work with non-profit organizations on their websites and help with marketing and other advanced business and technology projects.

Bradley said ePICS offers a unique experience to students beyond what they would learn in the classroom.

"What makes it different is the real world problem solving part," he said.

But the class is in trouble due to lack of funding.

The program gets one $35,000 grant from the Wisconsin Campus Compact a year, which helps pay for one graduate student and two undergraduates to help with the course. The other people who work to coordinate the program are volunteers.

The lack of funding has created stumbling blocks for the program, as Bradley said the course is unable to accommodate certain client requests — like updating websites — because the program does not have enough resources to allow students to participate for more than one semester.

ePICS coordinators are also seeking funding from Madison businesses and individuals that care about the program.

The program originated at Purdue University in 1995 and came to UW in 2000 with 24 students enrolling in the class that fall. Bradley said he tailored the class to his liking and made it more interdisciplinary, so the whole campus could experience it.

And Bradley said it seems as if students enjoy it.

"It gives students the opportunity to work personally with a non-profit organization as well as the chance to work in a real world environment," UW junior Mike Gajdostik said.

Students work in teams for their assigned non-profit organization throughout the semester and offer services that the organization needs.

"The students are working with someone that is depending on them," Bradley said. This is one of the reasons he said students like the class as much as they do.

He went on to say that through ePICS, the students are able to practice civic engagement and get a taste of working in the real world.

Bradley also commented on the fact that the class is a good résumé builder and gives the students experiences to draw from during interviews.

"The world is changing rapidly," Bradley said. "Our principle job as educators is to help students operate efficiently as citizens."

Bradley added it is important for UW to keep the course because nothing similar is offered on campus.

"ePICS is one of a kind in the scope, scale, and complexity of programming," Bradley said. "It is a type of program that provides students with a chance to work on interdisciplinary teams with real world problems."