When Gov. Scott Walker on Monday announced plans for a new online education program at the University of Wisconsin System, it was news not just to the public, but to most UW staff and many high-level administrators. Several UW administrators confessed to Isthmus that they didn't know the details of the plan and referred a reporter to other administrators...David F. Giroux, executive director of communications and external relations at the UW System, says he understands the confusion...

...That the announcement came from the UW System instead of technical schools or for-profit colleges is what makes this a novelty, and that's probably on purpose. The market is ripe with adult learners who need to complete degrees or would like to learn new skills; it would be disingenuous not to adapt to that cohort's need for more flexibility. If the program can put more people into careers after graduation, it's worked. The risk is cheapening a degree, however, that does and should take considerable effort. Earning a degree is life-altering, painstaking work, and it pretending there is a shortcut is a disservice to graduates of the System...

Virtually all of the buildings at UW-Superior were damaged by flood waters from record rainfall Wednesday. Some buildings have been re-opened and classes are being held, but other buildings have restricted access. The UW-Superior campus had water damage in 14 of its 16 buildings...

Earning a college education is an investment. In today's challenging economy, it is still an important one that will pay off economically...University of Wisconsin System institutions, including UW-Marshfield/Wood County, strive to provide an education that will give graduates a competitive edge by providing students with critical-thinking and decision-making skills that every employer is looking for...

...The University of Wisconsin-River Falls is running a 16-month program where participants meet one weekend a month at UW-Marshfield/Wood County...UW-River Falls provides the graduate degree program/curriculum and instructors...

A legal dispute over the ownership of a geological museum housed at the University of Wisconsin-Fox Valley will end in a settlement that names the University of Wisconsin System as owner of its collections and assets...

The University of Wisconsin-Platteville is one of seven sites in the United States that will host an International Tuba Euphonium Association regional conference in 2013...

In 1989, the Office of Civil Rights began investigating the University of Wisconsin's athletic department for compliance with Title IX. But Pat Richter, the UW athletic director at the time, had other concerns as well. The archaic department he had just taken over was almost $2 million in debt. Under pressure from the state to get his house in order, Richter was faced with a difficult choice. "Limp along," as he liked to say, with 25 sports? Or eliminate five and give the teams that remained a better chance to compete with the savings?...

Wisconsin's controversial 2011 collective bargaining law may add $87.5 million to state retirement system costs next year due to a little-noticed change that will boost employee benefits. The unanticipated costs aren't a back-breaking amount for the massive retirement fund, but they illustrate why laws that alter the complex retirement system should be examined carefully before enactment, said Robert Conlin, secretary of the Department of Employee Trust Funds...

Over the next eight weeks, a group of 14 Milwaukee Area Technical College students will receive intensive training on CNC Swiss screw machines...In return, Herker has guaranteed the students jobs when the class is completed. The partnership between MATC at Herker is an example of how area technical colleges have reached out...

After rising enrollment peaked in 2010-11 at Chippewa Valley Technical College, student numbers are declining even as area employers see growing need for trained workers...

After a highly unusual -- arguably unprecedented -- series of events over the past two weeks, the University of Virginia's Board of Visitors will meet on the campus Tuesday to reconsider the controversial forced resignation of President Teresa Sullivan...

Nearly two weeks after Teresa A. Sullivan was forced to resign as president of the University of Virginia, a push to reinstate her appears to have traction...

The campaign for the reinstatement of Teresa Sullivan as the University of Virginia's president took a giant step forward on Thursday as the governing Board of Visitors scheduled a special meeting for Tuesday to consider "possible changes in the terms of employment of the president," the university announced...

Mitt Romney continues to be vague about what he would do about President Obama's new policy of not deporting undocumented students who meet certain criteria -- a policy widely praised by education groups. But on Thursday Romney, the Republican presidential candidate this year, proposed an immigration change that is consistent with the proposals of many education groups, and advocates for international graduate students. He proposed that foreign students who obtain advanced degree in math, science or engineering at American universities should be granted permanent residency...

Gov. Mitch Daniels of Indiana was unanimously voted the next president of Purdue University by the board of trustees on Thursday, making official what had been reported by a number of local and national news outlets this week. Mr. Daniels, a Republican who cannot run for a third term because of term limits, will start as the university’s 12th president in January...

The federal government should make it easier for colleges and universities to finance big sustainability projects on their campuses, three higher-education groups recommend...

New efforts to develop liberal-arts education in Asia have recently grabbed headlines and generated a buzz in academe...