8/30/12
Governor Walker and UW System Announce Revolutionary Online Degree Model
GOVERNOR WALKER AND UW SYSTEM ANNOUNCE REVOLUTIONARY ONLINE DEGREE MODEL (TUESDAY, JUNE 19,
2012)
June 1 9, 2 012
For Immediate Release
Governor Walker and UW System Announce Revolutionary Online Degree Model
UW Flexible Degree will substantially lower tuition costs, and personalize learning
Madison–Today Governor Scott W alker, University of W isconsin System President Kevin P. Reilly, and UW Colleges and UW-­‐Extension Chancellor Ray Cross announced a
competency-­‐based degree model that will transform higher education in W isconsin. The unique self-­‐paced, competency-­‐based model will allow students to start classes anytime and earn credit for what they already know. Students will be able to
demonstrate college-­‐level competencies based on material they already learned in school, on the job, or on their own, as soon as they can prove that they know it. By
taking advantage of this high quality, flexibility model, and by utilizing a variety of r esources to help pay for their education, students will have new tools to accelerate
their careers. W orking together, the UW System, the State of W isconsin, and other partners can make a high-­‐quality UW college degree significantly more affordable and
accessible to substantially more people.
“This new model for delivering higher education will help us close the skills gap at an affordable price to get W isconsin working again,” said Governor W alker. “As states
across the country work to improve access and affordability in higher education, I am proud to support this exciting and innovative University of W isconsin solution.”
“We are proud of the collaborative work that has gone into this proposal and we look forward to working with the governor, the legislature, faculty, employers, and
others to make W isconsin the leading innovator in higher education,” said Reilly. “We’ve set the stage for this in r ecent years with efforts to expand transfer policies,
enabling students to more easily move college credits from one UW campus to another or from another school into the UW System,” Reilly said. “Together, these and
other features should r esult in offerings that could let students r educe their costs dramatically.”
Reilly tapped University of W isconsin Colleges & Extension Chancellor Ray Cross to lead the project by working with other UW Chancellors to assemble a team of faculty
members who are committed to developing new ways to assess learning outcomes in their r espective academic disciplines.
“This is an exciting challenge at a critical moment in time. It won’t be easy, but we have many talented people across the state who will contribute to this project,” said
Cross. “We know now which features and benefits many adult students want. O ur goal is to address these needs in new ways, but we can only achieve that goal by
efficiently leveraging all the UW System’s r esources in a truly collaborative fashion.”
UW System expects to make this program available online to students as soon as the fall of this year. A detailed summary of the UW Flexible Degree plan can be found
by clicking here.
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