On February 5, UW-Madison launched pdc.wisc.edu, a one-stop web portal highlighting more than 40 flexible and online degree and certificate programs. Wisconsin media noted that the website will help address Wisconsin’s workforce needs by making it easier for busy professionals to continue their education and advance their careers.
An article in the Wisconsin State Journal reports that Advance Your Career provides information about online, hybrid, accelerated, and evening/weekend programs at UW-Madison, allowing people to obtain an advanced credential without having to leave a job. It quotes Sarah Mangelsdorf, Provost and Vice Chancellor for Academic Affairs, on research showing that between 2010 and 2020, “Wisconsin will have about 75,000 job openings that require post-baccalaureate credentials. UW-Madison’s flexible and online degrees and certificates will provide Wisconsin residents with the qualifications to fill these positions and excel at them.”
An article in the Milwaukee Journal Sentinel explains that Advance Your Career was “prompted by a recommendation by the Governor’s Council on Workforce Investment that Wisconsin institutions of higher education improve access to degree programs that support opportunities in high-demand fields.”
A WKOW report points out that UW-Madison has seen enrollment in its flexible and online programs increase by over 600 percent.
In an op-ed in the Wisconsin State Journal, Jeffrey S. Russell, UW-Madison’s Dean of Continuing Studies and Vice Provost for Lifelong Learning, says UW-Madison has seen a sharp increase in enrollment in flexible and online programs: from 188 people 2005 to about 1,300 today.
“As we introduce more online options in the coming years,” Russell writes, “those enrollments will continue to grow.”