UW system administrators went too far this fall with proposed changes to how general education course credits transfer, according to faculty and staff across the Universities of Wisconsin.
“It’s a clear overreach,” said Amy Lewis, an assistant professor of music at UW-Madison who co-leads the United Faculty & Academic Staff union on campus.
The proposed changes stem from the state budget approved by lawmakers this summer. While lawmakers approved a roughly $256 million increase in funding for Wisconsin’s 13 public universities, that additional funding came with strings attached.
Students were already required to take some general education courses to graduate. By next fall, all credits for these courses must also be transferable and satisfy general education requirements across the system.
Lawmakers instructed the UW system’s governing body, the Board of Regents, to “establish policies for the appropriate transfer of credits” and submit their proposal to a legislative committee by the end of this year.
UW system administrators recently released a draft policy, which drew criticism from faculty and staff. The policy goes beyond what the law requires by creating a new general education framework, employees argue.
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