Story originally printed in the La Crosse Tribune or online at www.lacrossetribune.com

Published - Friday, May 09, 2008

Western, UW-L work on transfer option

By KJ LANG | La Crosse Tribune

Western Technical College and the University of Wisconsin-La Crosse are working to forge a new pathway for students to earn a four-year degree.

Western has proposed a two-year associate of science liberal arts degree, which would offer another transfer degree option between the two schools.

The degree program is designed to prepare students to enter bachelor’s programs with junior status at UW-L. However, if Western students aren’t admitted to UW-L, they could go any other four-year college that would admit them.

The goal of the two-year degree is to propel students into four-year degree programs and ultimately increase the number of bachelor’s degree holders in the region, said Lee Rasch, president of Western.

“We are advancing something that clearly seems the best answer for our area,” he said.

The proposal will go before the Wisconsin Technical College System Board at its May 14 meeting. If it passes, it will go on to the UW System Board of Regents in August. If passed by both boards in a timely manner, Rasch said, the transfer program would be available to students in spring 2009.

The Associate of Science degree would include a minimum of 64 credits, the majority from classes at Western in courses such as English, math, natural science and health and wellness. About 16 to 20 of the credits would be taken at UW-L in courses such as humanities, arts and foreign languages.

“We are excited about this,” said Chris Bakkum, interim registrar at UW-L. “I think this is a great option for people in the region that are place-bound but want to get started on their education.”

The program would be limited to 30 students the first year, Rasch said, with a goal of phasing in more students in the future.

Rasch disagrees with the argument that technical college students would not be ready for junior standing at UW-L.

All 27 of Western’s full-time general studies faculty members have a master’s or doctoral degree and have credentials, Rasch said, which meets or exceed the requirements of the Higher Learning Commission for teaching coursework at the level of the Associate of Science Degree.

Three years ago, Western created a similar Associate of Arts transfer option with Viterbo University.

KJ Lang can be reached at (608) 791-8226 or klang@lacrossetribune.com.