MADISON, Wis.—The Universities of Wisconsin today unveiled a new one-stop, easily searchable website that provides access to and information about every fully online degree program being offered at the constellation of 13 public universities.
Wisconsin Online – with the URL online.wisconsin.edu – will list the more than 200 fully online programs offered by the 13 universities, including 10 associate, 99 bachelor’s and 95 master’s degree programs.
Dozens of academic program degrees are showcased through Wisconsin Online, from applied biotechnology to business administration to transportation and logistics management to writing and applied arts.
“This new website makes it easier than ever for Wisconsinites to find an online degree program suitable to their needs,” said Universities of Wisconsin President Jay Rothman. “It’s a one-stop-shop that showcases the excellent online education our universities offer, and we anticipate that online.wisconsin.edu will especially appeal to adult learners and traditional-aged students who simply prefer to learn online.”
The online programs featured on the website include those that are semester-based, accelerated semester-based, collaborative multi-campus semester-based, and competency based. Semester-based online programs are similar to traditionally delivered in-person programs with courses delivered over a 15-week semester. The competency-based programs, called the UW Flexible Option or Flex, is a distinct pedagogical approach to teaching and learning that focuses exclusively, and explicitly, on the learner’s ability to demonstrate mastery over defined competencies. While fully asynchronous like the semester-based online programs, the Flex competency-based programs are self-paced.
Students can search for programs by program level, area of interest, or campus. There’s also information about what it means to be an online student as well as specific information for international students, military members, transfer students, and prospective graduate and undergraduate students.
Wisconsin Online enhances the promotion of UW online programs marketed on each UW university’s website by collecting all fully online programs into one easily searchable website. Students wanting to learn more about a particular program can click through to the university’s online program webpage or request more information from the university.
“Online.wisconsin.edu also will allow us to market our programs across the U.S. and internationally,” Rothman said. “The Universities of Wisconsin have a great reputation around the nation and the globe, and we want to make our programs as accessible as possible.”
Wisconsin Online was launched on February 1, and, in the future, the website will point prospective students to online certificates, microcredentials, and other “course-to-career” education offerings that serve Wisconsin’s workforce needs.
The Universities of Wisconsin serve more than 162,500 students. Awarding nearly 37,000 degrees annually, the universities are Wisconsin’s talent pipeline, putting graduates in position to increase their earning power, contribute to their communities, and make Wisconsin a better place to live. Nearly 90 percent of in-state Universities of Wisconsin graduates stay in the state five years after earning a degree. The universities provide a 23:1 return on state investment. The Universities of Wisconsin also contribute to the richness of Wisconsin’s culture and economy with groundbreaking research, new companies and patents, and boundless creative intellectual energy.