UW System Restructure Gets Final Approval From Accrediting Agency

Nearly two years after the biggest restructuring of the University of Wisconsin System in 40 years was announced, President Ray Cross said that the plan has been granted final approval by the accrediting body overseeing Wisconsin campuses.

In early March, the Higher Learning Commission accrediting agency notified UW System administrators that it had given final approval to the merger of the state’s 13 two-year colleges with seven of its four-year universities. The restructure also eliminated the UW Colleges and Extension and moved its services, including Wisconsin Public Radio and Wisconsin Public Television, to new homes within the UW System.

In an interview with WPR, Cross called the approval by the HLC a major milestone in the transition.

“This is not commonly accomplished and we’ve accomplished it in record time and still have a ways to go and a lot of the details and a lot of the specific activities, but it’s a very significant achievement,” said Cross.

He said the HLC was complimentary in their analysis and review, and that its approval to maintain accreditation at the colleges and universities within the system is significant.

“Had this not happened, obviously, financial aid would have been in jeopardy,” said Cross. “So, that was critical. You cannot sacrifice student financial aid.”

A UW System summary of the HLC’s findings said peer reviewers credited the system for demonstrating “strong, forward thinking leadership in proposing and implementing the plans to restructure the system.” It lauded the UW System for strong collaboration, flexibility during the process and said the restructuring would bring “opportunities to improve involvement with and responsiveness to economic development needs” of the communities they serve.

But the summary also reported the HLC found “concerns about the financial sustainability” of the restructuring plan “evident in many interviews.” It also said reviewers found “issues of compensation” across four-year and two-year institutions.

Low student service staffing levels raised concern with the HLC. The summary noted “this was an area that has already been hit hard by budget reductions at all institutions as a result of enrollment declines” and that “the institutions and the System are aware of the need to rebuild these vital student services using new models of delivery and support.” It said if the issue is not addressed, it would make compliance with one of many accreditation criteria “especially challenging for all our institutions.”

Former UW Colleges Faculty Senate Chair Holly Hassel, who also sat on a steering committee for part of the restructure process, said a lack of student support services at two-year campuses has been an issue since a major reorganization of the former UW Colleges system in 2015 that led to layoffs and a regionalization of student support services. Hassel said she isn’t surprised the HLC picked up on that.

“So, since 2015 when those were eliminated, that was a huge concern for our faculty and staff and the HLC obviously is sharing that concern because they’re identifying that as an issue that needs to be addressed moving forward. We need to make sure we’re supporting the students that we’re admitting,” said Hassel.

Hassel, who now teaches at North Dakota State University, said the announcement of the restructure of the UW System was a “stressful and chaotic” time for her and the former colleagues she spoke with. The announcement by Cross was made in October 2017, a day after it was leaked to media. Many UW System employees said they were blindsided by the news. Even former UW Colleges and Extension Chancellor Cathy Sandeen said she learned about the proposal just days before it became public, though the news was described as an “open secret” among lawmakers at the state Capitol.

System’s Updated Transfer Policy Moving Forward

Cross said another milestone for the restructuring process has been the approval of a UW System Guaranteed Admission Transfer policy. The policy allows students at the two-year campuses, which are now referred to as branch campuses, who meet academic requirements are guaranteed admission into any four-year university in the system.

Cross said it’s not unlike the former transfer policy, but it’s an important distinction.

“One of the things that is important to understand that a lot of students attending these campuses believed that this restructuring required that they transfer only to the receiving institution and this is absolutely not true,” said Cross.

Changes Bring New Degree Options At Some Campuses

From the early days of the UW System restructure, there was talk of potentials for new degree options at two-year campuses after they joined their “receiving institutions.”

Cross said the first of these sort of offerings will begin this fall with proposed associate degrees in human services, health sciences, information science, applied finance, leadership and project management and environmental science and management at UW-Stevens Point at Marshfield and UW-Stevens Point at Wausau. Those campuses are also planning bachelor’s degrees in business and social work, among others.

UW-Platteville Baraboo/Sauk County and Richland will offer associate degrees in food and agriculture and business administration, according to system officials. UW-Green Bay is planning a bachelor’s degree in water science, administrators said.