Carroll, UWM forge engineering degree partnership

By Amy Hetzner of the Journal Sentinel

Waukesha — Another pathway to an engineering diploma opened Thursday as leaders from Carroll University and the University of Wisconsin-Milwaukee signed an agreement that will allow students to work toward such a degree at the Waukesha campus.

"We are now able to say to the local businesses in the city of Waukesha and Waukesha County that you now have an engineering program in your backyard," Carroll University President Douglas Hastad said at a signing ceremony on the Carroll campus.

Waukesha County business leaders have tried for years to expand the higher educational offerings available in the state's third largest county, most recently with an unsuccessful attempt to merge UW-Waukesha and UWM.

The Carroll-UWM initiative also addresses a more widespread push to increase the number of opportunities for Wisconsin students to become engineers, something considered critical to American industry's continued competitiveness in the global economy.

Just this year, UWM added more than 20 faculty members to its College of Engineering and Applied Science, UWM Chancellor Carlos Santiago said.

But the university needs other institutions of higher education to produce students ready for his campus' advanced engineering offerings, he said.

"We're delighted by this agreement," Santiago said, adding that it is similar to one already in place between UWM and Waukesha County Technical College. "We think it is a far-reaching agreement that will have each institution doing what it does best."

The deal with UWM is similar to an agreement Carroll entered into last year with UW-Platteville.

As part of the program, Carroll students will complete three years of coursework at the Waukesha campus before transferring to UWM for the final two. At the end of the five-year period, students would have a bachelor's degree in applied physics from Carroll and a bachelor's or master's degree in engineering from UWM.

Once in the UWM program, students initially will be expected to attend classes on the school's Milwaukee campus, UWM Provost Rita Cheng said. That could change in future years, either through UWM faculty teaching on Carroll's campus or through the use of online courses. UWM also is planning to build a new engineering campus in Wauwatosa.

Carroll, which has 2,650 students enrolled this fall, might have about 10 new students enroll in the applied physics degree program annually, Hastad said. The school already has 20 students in the program.

The Waukesha liberal arts college has been increasing its focus on the sciences over the past 15 years, and many students have asked about engineering offerings, Hastad said.

But "engineering is an expensive program, especially for a small, private institution to start," he said.