Wisconsin
Wisconsin was designated the first official partner state in the LEAP campaign in March 2005. In collaboration with AAC&U, leaders in Wisconsin have piloted a series of campus action and advocacy efforts that champion the value of a liberal education for all college students. An initiative of the University of Wisconsin System, LEAP in Wisconsin seeks to increase understanding of the value and purpose of liberal education for UW System students and Wisconsin citizens.
LEAP in Wisconsin is part of the Growth Agenda for Wisconsin, a ten-year plan for the UW System. The Growth Agenda calls for higher education to act as a catalyst for educational, social, civic, and economic transformation. The agenda intends to move the UW System forward into the multicultural democracy that characterizes 21st century America.
In 2008, the UW System endorsed a set of Shared Learning Goals (pdf). These goals, aligned intentionally with LEAP Essential Learning Outcomes, now appear as the first of 11 action steps in the Growth Agenda. A commitment to model inclusive excellence likewise appears as a lead objective of the agenda.
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Give Students a Compass: A Tri-State LEAP Partnership for College Learning, General Education, and Underserved Student Success and Making Excellence Inclusive
The University of Wisconsin system is a partner in the Compass Project. Three campuses in the system serve as beta sites in the first phase of the work.
University of Wisconsin Beta Projects at a Glance:
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Using NSSE data, Eau Claire is testing whether the university’s underserved students (first generation and/or low-income) have access to high impact practices. They are documenting underserved student participation in HIPs and removing barriers to their participation.
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Milwaukee is developing, implementing, and assessing an outcomes-based, HIPs-infused general education curriculum. The work includes faculty development, new advising and student services, and improved access for underserved (minority, first generation, and economically disadvantaged) students.
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Oshkosh is studying student retention as it may be affected by participation in HIPs. They seek to increase participation and success of minority, first-generation, and transfer students.
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Latest News from LEAP in Wisconsin
- University of Wisconsin System Announces 2011 Liberal Arts Essay Scholarship Competition Winners
Three undergraduate students from University of Wisconsin System campuses have been named recipients of the sixth annual UW System Liberal Arts Essay Scholarship Competition. The competition was established to support and promote liberal arts and science education throughout the state’s public university system.
Students were invited to discuss how the habits of mind and the skills of a liberal education are relevant or advantageous to the challenges posed by the workplace.
This year’s winners are: Megan Corby – UW-Milwaukee, for “I Chose Well;" Amelia Mercado, UW-Milwaukee, for “No, seriously, what are you going to do with that degree?;" and Leslie Spear, UW-Marathon County, for "Liberal Arts at the Home Improvement Center.”
- Oshkosh Letters and Science Dean John Koker makes a thoughtful and heartfelt case for learning for fiscal responsibility: “We use the power of the arts, the humanities, the sciences and the social sciences to present students with the knowledge and skills to navigate through these complicated and uncertain times. No one wants to leave our children and grandchildren in debt. Simply leaving them debt free, however, with no means to think critically, problem solve and learn is a short-sighted goal, one that may make us feel better now but leaves the future population unequipped to deal with issues that seem eternal.”
- In a well-reasoned editorial for the Wausau Daily Herald, Keith Montgomery of
University of Wisconsin Marathon County makes the case that the next generation of business leaders needs more than narrow job training; they must be trained in the skills of good citizenship as well. He promotes interdisciplinary study as the path to personal and social responsibility, an indispensable rudder to steer decisionmaking for today's students and tomorrow's employees. He points to the abilities to grasp the larger context of situations and decisions, to communicate effectively, and to evaluation situations critically as not just intellectual but also highly practical skills. In looking at the predicament of the country today, Dr. Montgomery muses,
"perhaps if more executives had taken an ethics, a political science course, or a history course, or some sociology, then they might have made some different decisions...
The collapse of Enron, like the recent collapse of banks and finance houses which its collapse in some ways foreshadowed, was not the result of a lack of accountants in the economy.
- On November 10-12, 2010, approximately 110 higher educators came together for the UW System’s Compass Institute. The participants comprised faculty, academic staff, and administrators from the UW System’s 14 campus-based institutions, and UW System Administration. Also present were colleagues from the System’s national partner, the Association of American Colleges & Universities (AAC&U); the two other Compass state systems, the California State and the Oregon University Systems; and workshop leaders from Massachusetts, Oregon and New York. The Compass Institute was convened as a part of the grant project Give Students a Compass: A Tri-State Partnership for College Learning, General Education, and Underserved Student Success. The Compass grant is one of the UW System’s signature projects in its collaboration with AAC&U on the LEAP Campaign (Liberal Education and America’s Promise).
- Wisconsin Lieutenant Governor Barbara Lawton Makes The Case For Liberal Education
Wisconsin Lieutenant Governor Barbara Lawton was the featured speaker at the University of Wisconsin Platteville's 2010 Convocation Wednesday -- at the invitation of UW-P Chancellor Dennis J. Shields, who introduced Lawton as an individual who is "bright, engaging and passionate" about all things involving education.
"A liberal education in my mind is the price of admission to the 21st century global economy," Lawton said. "What we really need are students who know how to navigate this growing sea of knowledge that is before us. They need the kind of intellectual and practical skills to maneuver through that and make sense of it -- as well as creativity to see the possibilities."
- Featured Speech: UW System President Kevin Reilly discusses the LEAP-influenced UW System “Growth Agenda for Wisconsin” in his address to the “President’s Summit on Excellence in Teaching and Learning,” titled “One Decade In: Teaching and Learning in the 21st Century.” He notes that, “in education, quantity without quality is an entirely false promise and we won’t make that kind of promise to the people of Wisconsin. Instead, we are working through this initiative to ensure that our students will graduate with a quality of mind that will enable their leadership in a 21st century, globally-engaged American democracy….the Growth Agenda calls for higher education to act as a catalyst for educational, social, civic, and economic transformation.”
- The University of Wisconsin System is working to boost the number of college graduates over the next 15 years, aiming for a future where half of all Wisconsin adults have a college degree. Click here to read the full article. (April 5, 2010)
- The University of Wisconsin System holds a President's Summit on Excellence in Teaching and Learning each year for faculty and administrators.
- UW-Oshkosh Explores Connections Between On-Campus Student Employment and Essential Learning Outcomes
UW-Oshkosh, a member of the LEAP Campus Action Network and part of AAC&U's Compass project, is conducting a study to "understand how to thoughtfully and systematically modify students' employment to offer students greater engagement" and ensure that students' work experiences on campus include enhanced learning opportunities and lead to greater achievement of liberal education outcomes. Read more about the study and how to become a Campus Action Network member school. (December 14, 2009)
- The University of Wisconsin-Oshkosh Advance-Titan's Jessica Bedore reports on the UW-Oshkosh Liberal Reform Education Team's (LERT) work to change the way that liberal arts classes are presented and organized on campus (December 3, 2009). She writes, "According to UW-Oshkosh's LERT Web site,
'The Liberal Education Reform Team is charged with presenting a framework for student learning outcomes to be adopted by the UW-Oshkosh. The following outcomes, based on those from the Association of American Colleges & Universities, are being proposed for campus-wide discussion and adoption.'” (December 3, 2009)
Resources and LEAP in Wisconsin Websites
Press Releases, News and Events
- University of Wisconsin-Eau Claire Adopts New Mission Statement (September 9, 2010)
- In July 2009, NBC 26 announced the selection of The University of Wisconsin Oshkosh as one of the nine beta campuses for the Give Students a Compass Project.
- Thomas C. Pleger, campus executive officer and dean at the University of Wisconsin - Baraboo/Sauk County, wrote a guest editorial about how "A liberal arts education will prepare you for the future" in The Baraboo News Republic. He writes, "The liberal arts curriculum is the foundation for virtually every major offered in the University of Wisconsin System, and is designed to develop critical thinking skills, problem solving, communication skills, empathy, an understanding and appreciation for the arts and the human condition, and the ability to understand information."
- Julie Strupp writes about Lt. Gov Barbara Lawton's attendance at "Liberal Education: A Unifying Mission for the 21st Century University" in The Badger Herald (November 24, 2008). “Liberal education may be the key to keeping students competitive in the 21st century and revitalizing the U.S. economy,” said Lt. Gov. Barbara Lawton at a University of Wisconsin System conference Friday.
- Teams from 14 University of Wisconsin System institutions met in Madison on Nov. 20-21, 2008, to discuss how best to educate students for 21st-century challenges. AAC&U President Carol Geary Schneider was among the keynote speakers. The “Liberal Education: A Unifying Mission for the 21st Century University” conference featured “best practices” from across the UW System, as well as sessions that reflect a range of curricular and co-curricular initiatives that seek to ensure that students will learn the knowledge, skills, values, and habits of mind needed for effective citizenship in a rapidly changing and globally interdependent world. See welcome remarks by President Reilly and Regent President Bradley.
- Rachel Vesco writes about the conference, "Liberal Education: A Unifying Mission for the 21st Century University" in The Badger Herald (November 21, 2008) . AAC&U President Carol Geary Schneider was among the keynote speakers at this LEAP conference in Wisconsin. In 2005, The University of Wisconsin System was named AAC&U’s pilot partner in moving forward the Liberal Education and America’s Promise agenda.
- The Faculty Senate at the University of Wisconsin-Oshkosh recently passed a new set of student learning outcomes based on the Essential Learning Outcomes of LEAP. (May 28, 2008) The specific UW-Oshkosh outcomes were developed by the University's Liberal Education Reform Team and Resource Group, comprised of faculty, staff, and students. Upon approval, UW-Oshkosh Chancellor Richard H. Wells noted that "we need to deliver a strong, intentional liberal education if our students are to succeed in this ever-changing global century."
- Wisconsin Lieutenant Governor and LEAP National Leadership Council member Barbara Lawton recently gave the commencement address at University of Wisconsin-Baraboo/Sauk County, telling students that "creativity is one of the last legal ways to gain an unfair advantage over your opponents." (May 19, 2008)
- AAC&U Annual Meeting podcasts including speech by Wisconsin Lt. Governor Barbara Lawton
- Wisconsin Lieutenant Governor Barbara Lawton and UW-System President Kevin Reilly hosted a leadership meeting at the Wingspread Conference Center in Racine, WI, on "Liberal Education and Wisconsin's Promise" in April , 2008. Bringing together state leaders in public and private higher education, K-12 education, business, media, philanthropy, and government, the meeting developed an agenda for advancing the LEAP learning outcomes as part of a larger Wisconsin Growth agenda. The meeting ended with the official signing of a LEAP Year Proclamation that noted, in part, that "the State of Wisconsin will dedicate itself with extra diligence to align its PK-12 and higher education systems and to make liberal education available to all its citizens for the benefit of individuals, communities, nation and the world."
- The Lt. Governor of Wisconsin, Barbara Lawton, gave a speech about LEAP to the UW Board of Regents.
- Press release announcing University of Wisconsin System and AAC&U partnership
If you would like to be involved in LEAP in Wisconsin, please contact Rebecca Karoff at 608-263-2728 or rkaroff@uwsa.edu or Debra Humphreys at Humphreys@aacu.org.
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