Sally P Lundeen, PhD, RN, FAAN Dean & Professor
What is the UW Flexible
Option?
•
The UW Flexible Option is a portfolio of degrees andcertificate programs offered in a self-paced,
competency-based format.
•
Faculty from the UW System campuses identifycompetencies—skills and knowledge—necessary to earn a UW degree.
•
Students make progress by mastering these competenciesand passing assessments. By emphasizing what students
know rather than how much time was spent learning what
they know, the Flexible Option lets students advance toward a
UW degree at their own pace.
What is the Flex Option?
Multi-Institutional Approach
UW Colleges
Associate of Arts and Science degree
• A Foundational degree for more than 200
college majors
• Transfers to any UW four-year institution
UW-Milwaukee
• College of Nursing: RNBSN
(Bachelor’s of Science in Nursing)
• School of Information Studies:
Bachelor’s in Information Science and
Technology
• Lubar School of Business: Certificate
in Business and Technical
Communications
• College of Health Sciences: Bachelor’s
in Biomedical Sciences Diagnostic
Why is a Flex Option needed?
2018 JOBS REQUIRE MORE EDUCATION
Source: Carnevale, Anthony P. et al. (June 2010). Help Wanted: Projections of Jobs and Education Requirements Through 2018. Georgetown Center on Education
and the Workforce. www9.georgetown.edu/grad/gppi/hpi/cew/pdfs/FullReport.pdf
By 2018, 61% of jobs in Wisconsin will require Post Secondary Education (National Average in 2018 63%)
Why is a Flex Option needed?
US: 38%
WI: 39%
MN: 46%
2025 degree need:
60%
Degree Holders
(Associate degree or above)Why is a Flex Option needed?
• Advanced manufacturing
• Information technology
• Health care
• Business
Wisconsin Skills Gap
It is no longer about how many
courses students take; it is
about what students know and
how they can demonstrate what
they know.
DECOUPLING INSTRUCTION FROM
ASSESSMENT
Instruction
Assessment
InstructionFaculty
Developed
Assessments
Faculty Developed Competencies MOOC’s Prior Learning Military Self-TaughtWhat is the Flex Option?
“
21
stcentury face of the Wisconsin Idea”
If you know it, and you can do it,
AND
you can prove it, then you can earn UW credits through the UW
Flexible Option.
Student-Centered Approach
Academic Success Coaches
Provide
Comprehensive Mentoring & Advising
o Provides proactive student support from registration through graduation.
o Works with student to create a learning plan and timeline customized to fit each student’s goal and existing
knowledge.
o Connects student to specialized resources.
o Assists with planning competency assessments, keeping track of important dates and deadlines, providing
guidance based on feedback received from faculty on assessments.
Student Benefits
•
Reduces costs
• Only pay for what you need
• Leverages available free instruction (MOOCs)
•
Intended to accelerate time to degree
•
“Just-in-time” (students take what they need
when they need it)
•
Leverages new technologies and methods
FLEX Option Interest & Activity by the numbers
(January 6, 2014)
•
Without targeted marketing
o 15,524 unique visitors from 75 countries o 3,928 started Flex Fit 1
o 2,490 completed Flex Fit 1 o 1,224 began Flex Fit 2
o 906 completed Flex Fit 2 o 273 submitted applications
•
Most interest in IT (almost half)
Key Milestones
• In July 2013, Higher Learning Commission approved
UW-Milwaukee and UW-Colleges to offer competency-based degree programs through UW Flexible Option
Tuition was established by UW System Board of Regents as: • “All-you-can-learn” in a 3 month subscription period - $2,250
or • A single competency set - $900
• Admissions opened in November 2013.
• Students began competencies on January 2, 2014
Key Milestones
19
Flex Fit by School/College: Admission Applications rec’d Admits
(February 15, 2014 data) (% of Flex Fit Completers)
Associate of Arts & Science 286 began, 211 completed (74%) 96 (45.5%) Certificate in Business and
Technical Communications 201 began, 142 completed (76%) 19 (13%) Bachelor’s in Biomedical
Sciences Diagnostic Imaging 118 began, 80 completed (68%) 32 (40 %) Bachelor’s Information
Science, Technology 643 began, 502 completed (78%) 167 (33%) BS Completion in Nursing 339 began, 238 completed (70%) 74 (31%)
Total Admits: 114 (January – 27, February – 39, March – 29, April – 15, May 4)
•
New Educational Model:o Self-paced vs. semesters o No set curricular materials
o Blends technology with human interaction
o New roles and workloads for faculty and ASCs
•
New Operational Model:o From admissions to bursar to registration to transcripts to financial aid …
o New Student Information System (SIS)
o New Customer Relations Management System (CRM) o Integrated Learning Management System (LMS)
•
New Business Model:o Self-supporting and need for scale o No ongoing state support
Key Milestones
We are applying to the U.S. Department of Education (ED) for Title IV eligibility for direct assessment (competency-based) programs.
• Dear Colleague letter published March 19, 2013
• While there is no prescribed, uniform competency-based education model or approach, the Department will work
closely with interested institutions as they move through the approval process.
• Both UWC and UWM will submit applications.
Key Milestones
We are applying to the U.S. Department of Education (ED) for a regulatory waiver for Flexible Option to qualify as an “experimental site”.
The ED will grant experimental site status to programs that
promote high-quality, low-cost innovations in higher education, such as making it possible for students to get financial aid
based on how much they learn, rather than the amount of time they spend in class.
Aaron M. Brower, Ph.D.
Interim Chancellor UW Colleges & UW Extension University of Wisconsin System
608.262.6151
aaron.brower@uwex.edu
