Partnership smooths way for adults returning to school to finish bachelor’s
(left to right) DCTC Health & Human Services Dean Sherralyn Cox, DCTC Early Childhood & Youth Development Instructor Jill Behnke, DCTC President Ron Thomas, UWRF Teacher Education Department Chair Teri Crotty, UWRF College of Education and Professional Studies Dean Larry Solberg, UWRF Provost & Vice Chancellor for Academic Affairs Fernando Delgado
The University of Wisconsin-River Falls and Dakota County Technical College have launched a partnership that will make it easier for adults to go back to school and finish their bachelor degree. The commitment will streamline the process to transfer associate degree credits from a technical or community college toward a bachelor degree program at UW-River Falls.
“The key to assisting busy adults in completing their college degree is to design a program that fits their busy lives,” said Katrina Larsen, director of the UWRF Outreach and Continuing Education office. “The Early Childhood program offers courses using a variety of alternative delivery methods that are convenient to students. Two other programs, in Sustainable Management and Health and Wellness Management, may be completed entirely online.” Any student with 60 college credits may explore transferring into one of UWRF’s degree completion programs.
The Early Childhood Transition to Degree program began in 2007 to meet the growing need for early childhood educators in Wisconsin and Minnesota. This program helps individuals with associate degrees in early childhood complete their bachelor’s degree requirements via distance-learning courses. Jill Behnke, Early Childhood and Youth Development Instructor, said, “DCTC Early Childhood students were some of the first students enrolled when River Falls began its Early Childhood Education program. The collaboration between the two schools has made the transfer a very positive experience for DCTC students.” Under articulation agreements signed with various technical and community colleges, students are able to apply the credits earned to meet requirements for a bachelor’s degree and Wisconsin early childhood teaching certification (birth to age 8).
Behnke said, “I am excited about this articulation agreement. DCTC and UW-River Falls have been working on articulation for a few years and it has been rewarding to see the process through to completion.”
For more information about the articulation agreement, contact:
- Alison Tauer
Academic Advisor
651-423-8384 - Jill Behnke
Early Childhood and Youth Development Instructor
651-423-8398 - Dawn Braa
Early Childhood and Youth Development Instructor
651-423-8315
