minahkaypoh

Today Governor Scott Walker (whom my son happily continues to call "RecallWalker") and the UW System announced a joint effort to provide competency-based online degree programs. The program will be initiated and led by UW Extension faculty and staff under Chancellor Ray Cross. My feelings about Walker are well-known.  I have a hard time believing he has the best interests of UW System at heart.  That said, I don't think this was Walker's idea, and I don't think his interest in it means it's necessarily a bad idea. Here are a few reasons why: 1) Competency-based online instruction has been implemented all over the world. It aims to break the link between seat-time and credit in order to get students accessible, affordable degrees. Those are good objectives. Credit for sitting in a seat for a certain amount of time has never felt smart. (2) The typical conservative approach to implementation is a clear effort to undermine full-time faculty --bring in an outside ...

Lest you thought their interests in UW System were merely economic, Wisconsin legislators have now baldly demonstrated their political agendas with regard to institutions of public higher education.   Squelching an art exhibit hosted by UW Extension, legislator Steve Nass framed his attack on academic freedom as an appropriate intrusion, intended to "help" Extension's long-term interests in having state funding by promoting political correctness. Linking together the new austerity in higher education with political interests in suppressing "liberal" education and the activities of the arts and humanities, the Wisconsin legislature brings the past antics of Lynne Cheney and her ilk to a whole new level.  It is imperative that UW System not operate out of economic fear, compromising the integrity of its programming, and instead reverse the decision to cancel "Art in Protest"-- holding the event proudly, to fulfill the mission of its name.