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UW-Rock, other schools to offer 'flexible' degree

JANESVILLE — UW-Rock County is among state university system two-year campuses to offer a so-called flexible degree, in which students will be able to earn college credit for knowledge already gained through work or life experience, university officials said Wednesday.

The program is designed to cater to nontraditional students such as working adults, military veterans and those who left school early without enough credits for a degree. Students will be able to earn credits outside the classroom by demonstrating knowledge from their real-world experience or taking online courses—even those offered by other academic institutions.

The 13 two-year UW colleges will provide courses for general education and liberal arts in the new flexible-option format. The courses will be in core fields such as science, engineering, business and English.

A number of UW four-year schools also are planning flexible options for their degree programs.

The furthest along is UW-Milwaukee, which will begin offering degree programs this fall in nursing, diagnostic imaging and information science, as well as a certificate program in communications.

"I have every confidence that we can provide a very rewarding, highly personalized learning experience for the students who choose this new pathway," UW-Milwaukee Chancellor Michael Lovell said in a statement.

The UW effort is part of a growing nationwide trend in which universities seek to improve access to education for people who might not fit the traditional mold. Some high school graduates go into the military or the workforce, or they leave school without enough credits to graduate.

After several years pass, they might think their chance to get a college degree has passed them by.