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UW System, Tech Colleges Work To Break Down Transfer Barriers

Schools Are Still In Competition, But Students Are Saving Money, Official Says

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students, college
Maureen McCollum/WPR

Some Wisconsin colleges and universities have made it easier for students to transfer between schools.

But, it hasn’t eliminated competition at a time when they’re seeing shrinking state aid and, in some cases, fewer students.

University of Wisconsin-Superior Communications Director Dan Fanning said they just signed two agreements with technical colleges to help students transfer between programs. He said it’s a win-win.

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“Unfortunately, you’re seeing a lack of investment both in the state and across the nation, so this enables both the colleges to thrive but also the students to save a little money and time,” said Fanning.

UW Colleges Admissions Director Larry Graves said the UW System and the Wisconsin Technical College System have been doing a lot to facilitate transfers, including a Universal Credit Transfer Agreement between the two that took effect last year. Boards for the two have been identifying a set of courses that are transferable to any schools in the two systems. But, Graves said they’re still competing with each other.

“With the decreasing high school enrollments and the graduates coming out of there, we’re all just competing for those high school seniors,” he said.

Graves said UW two-year colleges are looking more to older students seeking continuing education or switching careers.

Wisconsin Technical Colleges System spokesman Conor Smyth said they’re trying to adapt to students’ and employers’ needs to remain competitive.

“We see students who started out and maybe graduated from one of the UW institutions or a private college or university and they come back to a technical college for specific skills training related to their career,” said Smyth.

UW System spokesman Alex Hummel said a mobile student base is one piece driving transfer agreements between institutions.

“Any way we can do that through transfer agreements or other programs that support a streamlined smooth path for students to be successful, that’s what we and our technical college counterparts are going to be working toward,” Hummel said.

According to UW System, undergraduate transfers increased from 13,870 in 2008-2009 to 15, 220 in the 2012-2013 academic year. But, the number of students transferring from each institution has remained largely flat in recent years. More than 800 transfer agreements have been established between UW schools and Wisconsin technical colleges since the early 1990s.

Wisconsin Association of Independent Colleges and Universities President Rolf Wegenke said they’re seeing more transfer agreements with other institutions as students attend more institutions over their lifetime.

“Students need that information to know, to understand what credits will transfer to what institutions for what degree,” he said.

Wegenke said 26 percent of first-time, full-time students in Wisconsin’s private colleges have transferred from another school.