UW-Madison Connections program to expand statewide

UW–Madison and the UW Colleges are expanding a pilot program to meet the growing demand for an undergraduate degree from UW–Madison.

Unveiled last spring, the UW–Madison Connections Program offered a select group of UW–Madison applicants from six Wisconsin counties “dual admission” to UW–Madison and one of four UW Colleges campuses. The UW Colleges are 13 campuses of the UW System that specialize in freshman and sophomore teaching. In the upcoming admissions cycle, the UW–Madison Connections program will expand to include all 13 UW Colleges.

These “Connections” students take their first two years of course work on a UW Colleges campus. If they remain in good academic standing, the students then make the transition to UW–Madison to complete their undergraduate degrees. While enrolled in the program, these students are granted many of the privileges afforded new freshmen enrolled on the Madison campus, such as access to libraries and sporting events.

Rob Seltzer, UW–Madison admissions director, says competition for admission to UW–Madison is tougher than ever before. During the last 10 years, the number of applicants has grown 55 percent to 20,330, while freshman enrollment remains relatively steady.

“We would like to enroll every qualified student,” Seltzer says. “But the increased competition means high school students must meet an increasingly higher standard to be offered admission into the university.”

Seltzer says thousands of applicants are placed on a “postpone consideration” list. These students have a chance of being accepted, but they are not yet assured a spot in the freshman class. The UW–Madison Connections program is offered to a select number from that pool.

Kimberly Block, a May 2001 graduate of Edgerton High School, is one of 26 students to enroll in the first year of the program. Hoping to earn a business management or business administration degree from UW–Madison, Block accepted the invitation to join the UW–Madison Connections program and elected to enroll at UW-Rock County in Janesville.

“I really wanted a degree from UW–Madison,” Block says. “This way, I get the degree, and I get the advantage of seeing what both campuses have to offer.”

Eden Inoway-Ronnie, coordinator of Connections, says the Connections students with whom she has spoken recently are very happy with their decision. “The students have expressed a great deal of satisfaction with the courses they’re taking and instruction they’re receiving on the UW Colleges’ campuses,” Inoway-Ronnie says.

“We want the students to feel connected to UW–Madison while they begin their course work on the UW Colleges campuses,” Inoway-Ronnie says. “Students are assigned academic advisers on both campuses to help ensure they are taking classes that will meet UW–Madison’s requirements for their intended major.”

Inoway-Ronnie says it is too soon to know how many students will accept the invitation to participate if offered this option next spring.

“So many outstanding students in this state want a degree from UW–Madison,” Inoway-Ronnie says. “Now more of them will get that chance.”