Bigger changes needed in UW System

Big changes are coming to the University of Wisconsin System. But perhaps even bigger changes are needed. Wisconsin’s public schools of higher education are in the midst of merging the state’s two-year schools with the four-year campuses. UW-Barron County, for example, will become part of UW-Eau Claire. The implementation of that plan is now being delayed to provide more time to determine how the new system will work. Meanwhile, some UW schools, like UW-Stevens Point, are considering eliminating more than a dozen liberal arts degrees in an effort to be more efficient. That is touching off a left vs right debate about the value of a liberal arts degree, but it should not. Plenty of other schools in the UW System will continue to offer majors in English, Art History, and other liberal arts fields. In fact, wouldn’t it make sense if each of the 26 campuses that make up the UW System didn’t all offer the same degrees? Let UWL be the school where phys ed and sports medicine is the specialty. Let Madison specialize in law, Stevens Point engineering, and so on. Have one school in the system be the school for certain subjects. The best programs and teachers can be centered there, rather than being scattered throughout the state. It makes sense, and it sure would save taxpayers money. If we are going to reorganize the UW System, now is the time to do so from top to bottom.