Accelerated Degrees For Veterans, New Wetlands Bill, The Future Of Journalism

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A new program lets veterans put skills they learned in the military towards information technology degrees, our guest tells us more about how the program works and where it’s expanding next. As newspapers continue to adjust to changing demand and public opinion of media hits a low point, a Wisconsin reporter is wondering what the future for holds for journalism. He joins us to talk about how the field is changing and how it impacts communities. We also talk about the new wetlands bill Gov. Scott Walker signed into law.

Featured in this Show

  • New Program Allows Veterans To Earn College Credit For Military Experience

    A new program at Herzing University is making it easier for veterans to use their military experience for credit towards information technology degrees.

    The university announced its Vet2IT initiative this week, which allows veterans to earn transfer credits depending on experience. According to a press release, students can earn up to 24 credits toward an associate degree and up to 28 credits toward a bachelor’s degree in information technology, accelerating their path towards graduation.

    “Today’s military veterans possess tremendous skillsets and diverse, real-world experience. Recognizing that experience with college credit on their path to a degree is a great initiative,” said John A. Scocos, Wisconsin Department of Veterans secretary, in a statement.

    The initiative was created in collaboration with the state Department of Veterans Affairs and is available through Herzing’s 11 campuses, three of which are in Wisconsin, and online.

    Bill Vinson, president of Herzing University’s Madison campus, said the hands-on experience of veterans should translate to college credit once they return to civilian life.

    “They’ve been trained. They should be able to get credit for this. And when you look at the outcomes, it falls right in line with what college credit is. We’re saving them time and money and getting them out in the civilian world working faster,” he said.

    The program follows the success of the Vet2RN initiative, which provided former military medics up to 20 transfer credits. Vinson said that program is currently running at capacity, with the first class graduating in May 2016.

    “While we did (Vet2RN) and we got to help a lot of veterans, we just couldn’t help but feel there’s more we could do,” Vinson said.

    Vinson said Herzing is already exploring additional initiatives to help parlay military experience towards college credit. One idea is tentatively being called “Battlefield to Boardroom,” which would leverage leadership training towards earning credit towards business degrees.

  • Walker Signs Wetlands Bill Into Law

    Wisconsin Gov. Scott Walker signed Senate Bill 459 into law, which changes how property on navigable water and wetlands is regulated. We talk about the details of the law and some of the concerns that advocacy groups have.

  • New Initiative Puts Veterans' Skills Towards Technology Degrees

    A program from Herzing University makes it easier for veterans to use their military experience towards information technology degrees. Our guest is the President of Herzing University in Madison and tells us more about how the program works.

  • Veteran Journalist Contemplates The Future Of The Field

    As the media industry undergoes drastic change, a veteran journalist from Wisconsin contemplates the question: Is working in journalism still worth it?

Episode Credits

  • Rob Ferrett Host
  • Veronica Rueckert Host
  • Haleema Shah Producer
  • Judith Siers-Poisson Producer
  • Amanda Magnus Producer
  • Veronica Rueckert Producer
  • Bill Vinson Guest
  • Shawn Johnson Guest
  • Erin O'Brien Guest
  • Bill Lueders Guest

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