The Universities of Wisconsin system is pursuing a new systemwide general education policy. Faculty across the UW system have voiced strong opposition to the proposed policy, passing formal resolutions to protect the academic autonomy of the campuses.
Contrary to the claims of the UW system, the proposed policy is not mandated by state law. Act 15, signed this summer, directs the UW system to make core general education courses transferable among campuses. It does not mandate a uniform curriculum.
UW system president Jay Rothman is pushing a one size fits all plan that violates Wisconsin law, which gives chancellors and faculty the responsibility of setting degree requirements at their own campuses.
Faculty at each campus have spent years developing distinctive general education programs that reflect local strengths and unique needs of our communities. Forcing campuses to adopt the same program undermines their autonomy, threatens smaller programs, and jeopardizes the diversity of ideas that enrich the UW system.
Only 2% of UW students transfer between campuses. Those students receive credit for their previous coursework under existing policies. Why then is the UW system rushing into an unnecessary overhaul that could reduce course options, risk jobs and weaken academic freedom?
The UW Board of Regents will vote on the proposed policy Nov. 19. Wisconsin’s students and communities deserve a university system that values local expertise and shared governance, not top-down uniformity. The Regents should reject this misguided proposal and preserve the autonomy and quality that has long defined the UW System.
Grace Deason, La Crosse