A joint committee of the Wisconsin Technical College System and the University of Wisconsin System issued a draft report Friday outlining plans to increase the number of bachelor's degree holders emerging from the two systems.
According to the Office of Policy and Research Analysis, Wisconsin currently ranks ninth in the nation in percentage of associate degree holders, whereas the percentage of bachelor's degree holders ranks 30th, below the national average.
The draft report involves efforts by the two systems to work together to make earning a four-year degree at any school in the system easier. The report includes the development of collaborative degree programs, strategies to identify students with incomplete UW degrees, and transfer credit policies.
\The big thing here is the two systems are looking at ways to work together on some very innovative strategies that are going to enable more people to get degrees in this state, because we think this is going to have an enormous impact on per-capita income,"" UW Regent spokesperson Doug Bradley said.
Competition in the Midwest to improve education levels and per-capita income is also critical. ""Minnesota and Illinois are just blowing us away in terms of per-capita income. That is part of the extra motivation for collaboration,"" Bradley said.
The Joint Committee on Baccalaureate Expansion, co-chaired by UW Regent Charles Pruitt and Tech board President Brent Smith, will present the preliminary recommendations in the six-page draft report to the Tech system board Tuesday and to the Board of Regents Thursday for final approval.
