UW System puts $2 million gift into online instruction
The University of Wisconsin System announced a $2 million anonymous donation Monday that will help improve online classes and academic advising.
The donation funds a system initiative that will provide training for faculty and student support staff, broaden access to technology for students, and support the UW Extended Campus' work to create best practices and a certification program for online instruction and student coaching.
The donation comes as the system is facing mounting challenges to its plans for reopening, from a rise in COVID-19 cases to an impending budget cut by the state.
UW System Interim President Tommy Thompson said UW schools are still planning to reopen this fall.
He said the initiative — which will provide funding to campuses as grants and includes up to $500,000 to provide laptops, tablets and hotspots to students who can't otherwise afford them — will be helpful as early as next semester.
He said the gift will improve online offerings in the future, too, as the UW System works to expand access for working adults and other non-traditional students in an increasingly competitive market for online college degree programs.
But he did not say the gift meant more courses would be online compared to current planning. UW schools are taking a hybrid approach to the fall, offering a mix of online and in-person classes.
“We've got one campus that's at 70% in-person all the way down to one that's at 25% in-person,” Thompson said. “We think that overall, with the new gift ... it's going to be a great educational experience.”
Last week, several colleges outside Wisconsin — Spelman College and some other historically Black colleges and universities and also the University of California at Berkeley — changed their plans for an in-person fall.
Thompson said the UW System does not have a threshold at which it would move to online-only instruction. Campuses are having such discussions on the local level, in conjunction with local health departments.
In Milwaukee, the city health department is reviewing and approving colleges' plans for fall, given current guidelines that say the colleges can't bring students back until the next phase of the city's reopening plan.
UW-Milwaukee said last week it received approval to reopen. In comparison, neighboring Marquette University is also working with the city health department and preparing for in-person classes, but said it would reassess its fall plans by the first week of August.