Stronger Workforce
More than half of new jobs created in Wisconsin will require some kind of college degree, and more than a third of those will need people with four-year degrees or higher. Today, UW campuses and online degree programs confer more than 33,400 degrees per year.
The majority of those degree-holders continue to call Wisconsin home after graduation. More than 80% of Wisconsin residents who attend a UW institution choose to remain in Wisconsin following graduation, and 85% of all UW System alumni say they were “effectively prepared with the knowledge and skills they needed” in the workplace.
Building on this solid foundation, UW System is focused on new strategies to further strengthen Wisconsin’s workforce:
- More graduates: The UW System’s More Graduates for Wisconsin initiative plans to boost the cumulative number of graduates by tens of thousands by the year 2025.
- More seats in UW classrooms: Students today are finishing their degrees faster with fewer credits, saving money and freeing up classroom space. Over the past 16 years, these efficiencies made room for 11,000 more students. Degrees awarded annually have grown 19% over the last decade.
- New flexible learning options: In Wisconsin, about one in five adults – or 700,000 people – have some college credit, but no degree. Campuses are providing convenient learning opportunities, including accelerated, hybrid, online, evening, and weekend courses. UW System’s new Flexible Degree Initiative intends to provide new pathways for working adults and other nontraditional students, while recognizing competencies gained outside the traditional classroom setting.
- New pre-college options: Starting in fall 2013, more high school students will earn high school and UW credit simultaneously as part of a statewide “dual enrollment” initiative to provide earlier access to college classes and reduce the cost of a college degree. Other K-12 outreach efforts include mentoring programs, college tours, and participation in KnowHow2Go, a national campaign to raise college aspirations in young people and teach them how to get there. These efforts are to counter a trend predicting only three in 10 eighth graders will earn a two- or four-year degree.
- Expanded transfer opportunities: Students need choices and flexibility in their educational careers. Many programs exist to help students begin college at one UW campus and get their degree from another. The UW System’s nationally recognized Transfer Information System (TIS) uses an interactive online “wizard” to guide students and create seamless cross-campus transfers statewide.
- College affordability: Compared to other public universities, UW tuition is low, but aid to students with financial need lags. The UW System is partnering to grow new public and private investments in financial aid. These include the Wisconsin Covenant, a program promising students who get good grades and are good citizens a spot in a Wisconsin college, and the Fund for Wisconsin Scholars, a private endowment providing scholarships to lower-income UW and technical college students. A tuition assistance grant, effective for the 2011-12 academic year, offset a portion of tuition for qualifying UW resident undergraduates whose families earn up to the state’s median family income of $60,000 and have unmet financial need. UW Colleges tuition was frozen at 2006 levels through 2010-11, and went up 5.5% for the 2011-12 and 2012-13 academic years.
- Capacity to meet workforce needs: Today, more than 27% of UW undergraduate degrees are conferred in science, technology, engineering and math (STEM fields). Over the past 20 years, the number of degrees in STEM fields has increased by 46%, while the degrees in health-related fields have increased 39%.
- Shared learning outcomes: As technological advances transform today’s workplace, employers want college graduates to be adaptable and flexible. In addition to acquiring specialized knowledge and skills, UW students learn to think critically, write clearly, speak persuasively, understand and appreciate diversity. They work in teams, respect diversity, and bring a sense of informed citizenship to their work lives.
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