I'm not sure how this is going to work out, but it should be interesting. Governor Walker and UW System Announce Revolutionary Online Degree Model is proposing:
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The unique self-paced, competency-based model will allow students to start classes anytime and earn credit for what they already know. Students will be able to demonstrate college-level competencies based on material they already learned in school, on the job, or on their own, as soon as they can prove that they know it. By taking advantage of this high quality, flexibility model, and by utilizing a variety of resources to help pay for their education, students will have new tools to accelerate their careers. Working together, the UW System, the State of Wisconsin, and other partners can make a high-quality UW college degree significantly more affordable and accessible to substantially more people.
“This new model for delivering higher education will help us close the skills gap at an affordable price to get Wisconsin working again,” said Governor Walker. “As states across the country work to improve access and affordability in higher education, I am proud to support this exciting and innovative University of Wisconsin solution.”
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Check out the rest of the press announcement for details.
At one level I think this is a good idea. People shouldn't have to pay exorbitant amounts of money to get credit for something they already know, or could learn faster and cheaper on their own.
One the other hand I'm afraid that the higher education bureaucracy is so established that it will be almost impossible to have meaningful reform.
Hat tip: The Foundry
3 comments:
Being in Wisconsin and a happy Gov. Walker supporter, I agree with you that this is innovation worth exploring...and that the establishment will fight it, tooth and nail. So we shall see what happens, but at least he is (once again) pushing the envelope.
I really like hearing about the pushing of the envelope that Gov. Walker is doing. We need more people like him working to change the higher education establishment. The system is long broken and desperately needs to be fixed.
While it's not state endorsed, the company I work for, CollegePlus, works with students to help then earn college credit for what they already know and helps them accelerate learning what they don't know. This allows them to spend more time gaining real world experience and they're able to earn their fully-accredited bachelor's degree for a fraction of the cost and in the fraction of the time it takes traditional students.
I wish Gov. Walker luck. I hope public schools get better so more children have a decent education.
Taryn - CollegePlus looks like a great alternative to going off to college and incurring huge debts.
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