Are you a high school senior with a bad GPA? Is your resume blank because of your lack of extra-curricular activities? Is the University of Wisconsin-Madison your dream school, despite your slim chance of getting in? Don't worry, just apply to the Madison Area Technical College and tough it out for two years, and then you'll enjoy guaranteed admission into UW-Madison.
As a result of last week's "Transfer Contract" agreed upon by UW-Madison Chancellor John Wiley and MATC President Bettsey Barhorst, this could be actual advice given to weak students disappointed with their college options come this fall.
The specifics of the agreement include guidelines for students who wish to transfer to UW-Madison. They must complete at least 54 credits and have a 3.0 GPA. According to the press release issued by the university, those students with a GPA of a 2.6 or higher will still "receive special consideration."
Ms. Barhorst is pleased that the contract now gives MATC a "guaranteed on-ramp" into UW-Madison. She is also certain that this agreement will increase the number of degrees awarded to minority students. I can only imagine that Mr. Wiley is just as happy — the administration has now made a public step toward increasing the diversity on campus, an issue that has plagued the school for years.
This contract raises an important question about the true intent and consequences of the deal.
The agreement offers students an obvious loophole into a university that prides itself on having a highly selective admissions process. Students who did not do well enough in high school to apply to UW-Madison during their senior year of high school are sure to utilize the MATC arrangement to their advantage, by applying there purely to transfer out as soon as possible. After all, why wouldn't they? Students would potentially be able to spend two years in the heart of Madison and immerse themselves in UW-Madison student life before they are actually enrolled.
The qualifications to transfer to UW-Madison are not as challenging as they seem, and — for a student who knows that they will guarantee acceptance to a leading university — will certainly not be hard to achieve within two years.
I do not think that all students will use this arrangement that way, but I do believe that it raises an issue yet to be addressed by either signing party. While the contract boasts of giving deserving students the ability to attend a better university and receive a better degree, what happens when students overrun MATC purely to get into UW-Madison? Where then, will the deserving students go who want MATC but have now been pushed out?
A solution to this problem could be reached by merely focusing more attention on the integrity and quality of an MATC education. This agreement seems to validate the stereotypes of an MATC education being less than perfect — and also makes it seem that it is okay for students to believe that the neighboring UW-Madison graduates are sure to be more successful in the long run. Instead of sending this message to prospective students and current MATC students, why not help MATC become a better school that eventually will not be considered only a stepping stone into UW-Madison?
Emily Friedman ([email protected]) is a junior majoring in journalism and legal studies.
