Almanac

Report: Wisconsin provides highly efficient education system
Wisconsin offers one of the most efficient educational systems in the country, as state residents rank second nationally in their opportunity to earn a four-year degree from a public university, according to a UW System report.

The report cites three factors that contribute to Wisconsin’s educational efficiency. First, Wisconsin has the fourth-highest high-school graduation rate in the country. Second, the UW System serves a large number of these graduates, giving it the 11th highest service rate nationally for students who enroll in public universities immediately after high school. Third, the UW System ranks 14th in the nation for six-year graduation rates at public four-year universities.

Other findings in the report outline the growth in new and transfer students in the UW System; indicate that more students are being served through distance education, credit outreach, dual enrollment (high school students earning college credits) and study abroad programs; and show that retention and graduation rates are rising as credits to degree are decreasing.

The report is online at http://www.uwsa.edu/opar/.

Senior smokers set quitting record
Wisconsin senior smokers, 65 and older, quit in record numbers as part of a Wisconsin Tobacco Quit Line program that provided free nicotine patches and phone counseling last year.

More than 43 percent of the senior participants successfully quit, based on a survey conducted nine months after enrollment. In contrast, research shows that quitting “cold turkey,” or without any help, is successful for only about 5 percent of people.

The 43 percent abstinence rate among the seniors, among the highest ever reported, contradicts the belief that older smokers are less interested or able to quit. During the program, 1,800 Wisconsin seniors called the Quit Line and 1,300 enrolled for telephone counseling and free nicotine patches. More than 90 percent of the callers set a quit date. Among those who were unable to quit successfully, more than 80 percent still wanted to stop and 44 percent were planning to quit within 30 days.

Kruse heads College Library
Carrie Kruse has been named College Library’s new director, a position she assumed Oct. 1. Kruse, a 1991 UW–Madison graduate from the School of Library and Information Science, replaces former director Donna Senzig, who retired this summer.

Kruse has served in public services and library instruction throughout her professional career. She acted as the library instruction coordinator at College Library since 1998 and as the graduate project assistants and research interns supervisor from 2001 to the present. She also worked as a public services librarian from 1996-1998.

Backward Glance
From Wisconsin Week of Dec. 1, 1993: Badger football fans begin to clamor for Rose Bowl tickets, as the team embarks on a rare trip to Toyko to play its final Big Ten game vs. Michigan State. The Rose Bowl holds 100,000 fans, but only 18,000 tickets will be available to the university. With 42,000 season ticket holders and thousands of students, alumni and backers wanting to attend, athletics director Pat Richter says the allocation won’t nearly be enough. … The School of Pharmacy receives a $2 million grant from the Oscar Rennebohm Foundation toward a new building on the west end of campus. Pharmacy has been housed in Chamberlin Hall since the late 1930s and the space no longer meets space or safety needs.