Dive Brief:
- Only one of the Flexible Option programs in the University of Wisconsin school system will produce a net revenue for the state this year, the Capital Times reports.
- A professional certificate program in treating substance abuse disorders offered by UW-Madison raised a net revenue of $37,600, with the Flexible Option program as a whole bringing in a gross revenue of $2.8 million in the current fiscal year.
- Gov. Scott Walker wants Flexible Option programs to increase by 50% by Dec. 1, 2019; there are five degree and three certificate programs. However, starting new Flexible Option programs is expensive, and there was no new funding allocated for starting such programs in the governor’s budget this year.
Dive Insight:
Alternative education and credentialing programs, including apprenticeship and vocational training, are receiving increased focus in Washington, D.C., on college campuses and in state legislatures throughout the country. And finding ways to serve a broad range of students, particularly adult learners who are already in the workforce and are looking to supplement their educations, is imperative to the survival of the higher education complex. But lawmakers must back up their increased interest in alternative education models with funding. A report from earlier this year found that while higher education was often included in governors’ State of the State speeches, few of them committed to increases in funding.
If colleges must institute new mandates from states on alternative education programs without additional revenue, they will likely either need to reallocate funding or proceed at a slower pace, which endangers the potential tuition revenue that could be generated. Some states, like Michigan, have attached dollar figures to vocational or alternative credentialing programs, and administrators at public colleges and universities should urge the lawmakers in their states to follow suit.