New continuing education program announced

The university will heighten its commitment to continuing education for alumni and friends as the Wisconsin Alumni Association and the Division of Continuing Studies launch a joint Alumni Learning Program.

The two organizations will sign a memo of understanding to formallly begin the partnership this Friday, April 27, at the WAA board of directors meeting.

The curriculum for the Alumni Learning Program will include courses such as Alumni University, a week-long program that allows alumni to experience college life without exams and papers. WAA and DCS have collaborated on this program for the past 11 years.

“What this partnership accomplishes is a means for us to continue creating that lifelong link between faculty, staff, alumni, donors and friends of the university and the association,” says Paula Bonner, executive director and CEO of the Wisconsin Alumni Association. “It will also allow us the flexibility to introduce new educational opportunities each year, like Grandparents University and Alumni College at The Clearing.”

Both Alumni College at The Clearing and Grandparents University will debut this summer. The Clearing program takes place at a cabin in Door County and this year’s program allows “students” to experience Wisconsin’s Scandinavian heritage and culture in a casual learning environment.

Grandparents University, co-sponsored by the UW-Extension, is a two-day course that allows children and their grandparents to learn from each other as they create oral histories and earn a “degree” in science, history, communication arts or ecology. Both programs incorporate instruction by UW–Madison deans and professors.

“The components that make up the Alumni Learning Program provide a lifelong continuum of education,” says Howard Martin, dean of the Division of Continuing Studies. “And by partnering with the Wisconsin Alumni Association, we can pool our resources to create coordinated, visionary, satisfying experiences for UW–Madison alumni and their families in Wisconsin and around the world.”

The first step in the WAA/DCS partnership will be to hire a program coordinator to run the Alumni Learning Program. The position will be employed by DCS and housed at WAA. Both partners anticipate having a coordinator in place by July 1. The program will be self-supporting after three years.

For more information about Alumni University, Alumni College at The Clearing, Grandparents University or other continuing education programs, visit: http://www.uwalumni.com/learn.

The Wisconsin Alumni Association has been serving UW–Madison and its graduates since 1861. WAA provides an array of services designed to connect alumni to the UW, enrich their lives and serve their many needs. Services include the quarterly On Wisconsin alumni magazine, international educational travel programs, career resources and student-related programming.