23-05-2025
UW La Crosse utilizes Win-Win Program to help finish degrees
LA CROSSE, Wis. (WLAX/WEUX) – UW La Crosse is providing a chance for students who left the university early to finish their degrees. Director of the UWL Career Services Office, Becky Vianden, explains, 'Sometimes they don't even realize how close they were or that it's even possible to come back and do classes at UWL, even if they've been gone for a certain amount of time. By us reaching out to them, they're given this opportunity that can help improve their lives economically, educationally, or even career-wise to help them progress in their careers.'
To be eligible for the Win-Win Program, students cannot have enrolled elsewhere in the past 2.5 years, have earned at least 50 credits, and are close to completing an associate's or bachelor's degree. Associate Vice Chancellor of Academic Affairs, Sally Grunwald, adds, 'If they are close, we reach out to them and let them know that they have actually either earned their degree or are really close to earning their degree. We encourage them to reach back out to us and to finish the paperwork in order for them to get their degree.'
University officials say it's usually a surprise when students receive a call from UWL years after they leave school. Grunwald explains, 'They usually see it as a great gift to them that they actually have enough to earn their degree. It can really be a life-changing event for the student to realize that the time they have spent at UW-La Crosse is time well spent.'
Vianden adds that students obtaining degrees is not only beneficial for the student and the university, but also important for the state of Wisconsin. 'We think that the more students that we can help to complete their bachelor's degree or their associate degree, it will not only help themselves as an individual, but it us collectively as a state of Wisconsin to have people who have education that can help them progress in their careers and improve that state of Wisconsin.'
According to university officials, the Win-Win Program has helped 126 former students over the last four years.
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