A Central Wisconsin Collaborative Degree Program

Abstract

The UW-Stevens Point, UW-Marshfield/Wood County, and UW-Marathon County campuses are cooperating to provide a Collaborative Degree Program (CDP) which allows students in Central Wisconsin to complete a baccalaureate degree by attending classes at any of these campuses. This study examined the history of the CDP and explored the experience of students in the CDP through in-depth interviews about their lived experiences. The goal of the study was to discover who is utilizing the CDP, why they choose to use it, and how they speak of the CDP to others. The CDP students in this study identified themselves as time and place bound adults. Getting a college degree is important to them for personal, familial, and societal reasons. Because the CDP classes are offered in the evening, at their local campuses, they say the Collaborative Degree Program is the factor that allows them to complete a degree. Students are very appreciative of the CDP and made some suggestions for improvements. They want more interaction with professors. They want professors to see them as peers-adults with work and family commitments. They want administrators to offer a greater variety of courses and majors, and to keep technology use from interfering in communication processes. They also praise the advisors, professors, and the program, and highly recommend the CDP to adults who want to complete a bachelor's degree. By communicating with CDP students a current image of Central Wisconsin's adult learners, lifelong learners, emerges, complete with descriptions of their hopes, dreams, and some blocks to achieving these dreams. These students appreciate this opportunity to reach their adult educational goals using the CDP's face to face and interactive video class formats to complete a bachelor's degree.