About a year ago, we proudly announced the FORWARD partnership between UW-Green Bay and Lakeshore College. The partnership made it possible for Lakeshore students to take their classes at the Lakeshore College and UW-Green Bay Sheboygan campus.
It also provided a direct pathway for Education and Nursing students to start at Lakeshore and stay on our Sheboygan Campus to complete their four-year degrees through UWGB in those subjects. In less than 12 months, 179 students are taking classes from Lakeshore at the Sheboygan campus and three students have enrolled in the FORWARD program to complete their four-year degrees through UW-Green Bay after they receive their associate degrees from Lakeshore.
That’s 43 new nurses and teachers preparing to serve the Lakeshore region.
The partnership is intentional on many levels. UW-Green Bay and Lakeshore faculty and staff are able to work together in the same location to build stronger relationships. Students can declare their intentions for their educational goals on the front end, so we can ensure that both institutions are sharing the responsibility to help the students reach their goals. The instruction provided is the most affordable way to extend an education beyond high school and be able to stay local while getting valuable experience in the workforce.
As we look to expand the program further in the coming years, we are pleased with our initial results. We are in position to meet the needs of employers in Sheboygan that need talent quickly. The talent we are providing is well prepared to meet current and future needs, is likely to stay local, wants to give back to their community and is able to do so with little to no debt.
Lakeshore and UW-Green Bay exist to strengthen the quality of life and economic vitality of our footprints. Good things happen when we put aside the fact that we are in different state systems and instead focus on working together for the betterment of the student experience. This intentional work promises to have a long-term positive effect, and we are just at the beginning of what has become an incredibly exciting start! This successful collaboration has set the foundation for more bachelor’s degree programs to be added in the future.
Paul Carlsen is president of Lakeshore College and Michael Alexander is chancellor of University of Wisconsin-Green Bay.
This article originally appeared on Sheboygan Press: FORWARD partnership shows what happens when systems work together
Reporting by Paul Carlsen and Michael Alexander, Special to Sheboygan Press USA TODAY NETWORK-Wisconsin / Sheboygan Press
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