The University of Wisconsin System Board of Regents Education Committee voted unanimously Thursday to recommend the approval of a degree that students could attain with credits earned at both a state technical college and a UW school.
If passed by the full board today, the degree would create a new partnership between UW and the Chippewa Valley, located in northwestern Wisconsin.
The degree would be broken down so two-thirds of the curriculum would be offered by the technical colleges, and the remaining third by UW System institutions, including UW-Eau Claire, UW-Stout, UW-River Falls, or through UW Colleges Online.
"This will keep costs to students reasonable, while minimizing costs of delivering the programs," said Ron Singer, UW System assistant vice president for academic affairs, according to a UW System release.
Rebecca Martin, interim senior vice president for academic affairs, said the Chippewa Valley region is not currently providing a two-year program to serve as an entry point for students to begin in higher education.
Martin added that the technical colleges in Madison, Milwaukee and Rhinelander offer liberal arts transfer programs similar to what is proposed for the Chippewa Valley Technical College Associate degree program.
Chippewa Valley Technical College President Bill Ihlenfeldt said he was pleased with the board making strides toward fulfilling the needs of students in the region.
"The idea of working with our partners in the Valley is a great one," Ihlenfeldt said in a release. "The program is an ideal one. It's a program we can hold up before the Legislature and say we are working together as systems."
Regent Eileen Connolly-Keesler of Oshkosh said she felt the program would serve as a pilot and the board should review its progresses in the future.
"It's about how we're moving into this new age of inter-institutional, cross-system programming," UW System President Kevin Reilly said in a news release. "This proposal can be a real model for the future of what we need to do."
The full Board of Regents will vote on the CVTCA degree, and Regent Danae Davis of Milwaukee said she will request a report back to the board after one year of completion.
