Contact: Jodi Hare-Paynter
(262) 472-1570
harej@uww.edu
WHITEWATER A new outreach program at the University of Wisconsin-Whitewater hopes to help Wisconsin increase its number of college graduates and bolster a struggling economy.
Currently, Wisconsin ranks 36th among the 50 states in the number of adults over age 25 with bachelor’s degrees. The greatest growth in job opportunities will be those jobs requiring bachelor’s degrees, said Elizabeth Hachten, assistant dean of UW-Whitewater’s College of Letters and Sciences.
The program, made possible by a two-year grant worth nearly $90,000 from the UW System Committee on Baccalaureate Expansion, targets adults who left the university with one semester of coursework to complete. Roughly 331 students from 2001 to the present have been identified for the program.
“These students made a huge investment, but never completed their education,” said Jodi Hare-Paynter, interim registrar and interim admissions director. “We want to help them graduate.”
She added that not much is known about this student population. “We don’t know what happened in their final year that resulted in their leaving campus early,” Hare-Paynter said.
Betty Villalobos-Hallman, an adult student adviser with UW-Whitewater’s Adult Student Outreach Program, is one example. She attended UW-Whitewater 28 years ago but dropped out after a few semesters because she wasn’t doing well and money was tight. An eight-year-old daughter was her motivation to return to campus.
“How could I stress the importance of education to my daughter when I hadn’t even finished college?” Villalobos-Hallman said.
Jim Schwartz, like Villalobos-Hallman, started at Madison Area Technical College in 2000. Marriage and the birth of his first daughter led him to drop out. “I needed to work too much to handle classes,” he said.
In 2004, Schwartz gave college another try this time at UW-Whitewater.
From 2004-06 he was a full-time student until his second daughter was born. Three years later, and with the support of his family and tuition assistance from his current employer, Spuncast foundry in Watertown, Schwartz is back at UW-Whitewater with 15 credits to finish.
He is pursuing a degree in English with a communication focus to help him better communicate with customers.
Schwartz credits UW-Whitewater’s adult student outreach program and Villalobos-Hallman, in particular, for keeping him motivated and on track to graduation.
“To call someone who can help me overcome my specific challengesS Betty has helped me out quite a bit,” Schwartz said.
Villalobos-Hallman, who earned a bachelor’s degree in liberal studies from UW-Whitewater in 2008, will graduate in December with a master’s degree in educational leadership with emphases in counseling and women’s studies.
“Every single person who comes through hereSI’m with them,” she said. “I truly understand what adult students go through. The travel to campusSthe emotional needsSclassroom dynamicsSlearning new technology. If they succeed, I’ve succeeded.”
Adult students interested in the program should contact Villalobos-Hallman at 262-472-1619, toll-free at 888-308-3151 or adultadvise@uww.edu.
