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By the Tribune editorial board
Western Technical College is working on a collaborative program with the University of Wisconsin-La Crosse.
It would allow Western students to get a two-year associate of science degree and then transfer to UW-L, where they would be eligible to get a bachelor’s degree.
Western has had a similar associate of arts arrangement with Viterbo University since 2004.
Such collaborative programs by La Crosse’s higher education institutions are good for students because they allow flexibility — and give students different ways to get the education they need for success.
Western President Lee Rasch said Wisconsin is above average in the number of technical school associate degrees, but it is low on the number of bachelor’s degrees. Programs such as the one with Viterbo, and the proposed agreement with UW-L, will help correct that imbalance.
Western’s proposal must get approval from the Wisconsin Technical College System Board, which meets Tuesday. Then it would go to the University of Wisconsin Board of Regents for approval, probably in August.
If both boards approve the proposal, Western will begin its associate of science degree in the spring of 2009, with 30 students.
Rasch said starting small and building on the program will help ensure its success.
When Western began its associate of arts degree collaboration with Viterbo, it also started small and made adjustments along the way.
The first year of the credit-transfer program, the success rate among students was 52 percent. In the second and third year, the rate was 86 percent and 82 percent respectively.
One of the reasons for having such a program with UW-L is because UW-L is very selective — particularly for freshmen. UW-L Chancellor Joe Gow said in the fall 2008, the university received more than 7,500 applications for 1,750 available freshman spaces. That’s pretty tough competition.
For the junior and senior years, however, there is more room, and more possibility that a transfer student from Western could get in.
Still, it’s not a sure thing. But if the regents approve the plan, Western students could go to any UW campus that would admit them.
In a letter to Dan Clancy, president of the Wisconsin Technical College System, Gow wrote, “Affordable access to public higher education is an important issue in today’s society. ... The associate of science degree at Western Technical College would provide additional and much-needed affordable access to people in this region.”
This is a good proposal because it provides another way to get a college education. Both the technical college board and the regents should allow this collaborative program to begin.
