POINTS OF PRIDE

Ranked 39th in the nation among 311 institutions in the 2016 U.S. News and World Report list of Best Online Bachelors Programs (UWM is in the top 15% of ranked programs).

  • Biomedical Sciences: Diagnostic Imaging
  • Communication
  • Community Engagement & Education
  • History
  • Information Science & Technology
  • Jewish Studies
  • BSN Completion Program
  • Political Science
  • Psychology
  • Sociology

BestSchools.Org ranks UWM as the top online institution in Wisconsin.

UWM offers more than 30 online degrees and certificates and 700-plus online courses, including 10 fully online bachelor’s programs and 12 fully online master’s and doctoral programs.

Through its participation in the UW Flexible Option competency-based education initiative, UWM is at the forefront of institutions nationally in developing a new instructional model to reach adult students.

U-Pace instruction, which is personalized, mastery-based and student centered, has been proven to increase learning and academic success for all students, including economically disadvantaged students, academically underprepared students, racial and ethnic minority students, adult learners, and tradition-aged students across introductory disciplinary online courses—the impact of UWM’s U-Pace instruction has been honored with national awards:

U-Pace co-creator and faculty member Diane Reddy received the Excellence and Innovation in Online Teaching Award from the Online Learning Consortium.

Graduate programs in Library and Information Systems and Nursing are also highly ranked by both U.S News & World Report and BestSchools.Org.

UWM’s online History bachelors program is ranked first in the nation by the Nonprofit Colleges Online organization.

UWM’s online Diagnostic Imaging (sonography) program is ranked 8th in the nation by College Choice.

UWM enrolls more students in online courses of any public or private institution in the State.

UWM offers 200+ online courses each summer.

In 2017 UWM received a 2017 Effective Practice Award from the Online Learning Consortium.

A UW Flexible Option graduate was hired by Google for a prestigious job as an IT Resident.

UWM’s National Research Center on Distance Education and Technological Advancements (DETA) facilitates rigorous research identifying effective practices in online, blended, and technology-enhanced education at both the course and institutional levels. The DETA Research Center is advocating for and modeling rigorous methods for evaluating innovation in distance education and has forged partnerships between UWM, EDUCAUSE, the UW System, Milwaukee Area Technical College, and other institutions collaborating on research to advance online learning, including competency-based education.

UWM has secured extramural funding for research and innovation in online learning that has brought further visibility to UWM, advancing its mission, goals, and vision. Examples include:

  1. The National DETA Research Center: Fostering Student Access and Success through Evidence-based Online Learning and Technological Advancements, U.S. Department of Education – Funds for the Improvement of Postsecondary Education, $1,483,820.
  2. Evaluating the Success of Undergraduates in the U-Pace Intervention to Improve Academic Achievement for All Post-secondary Education Students, U.S. Department of Education – Institute of Education Sciences, $2,475,839.
  3. Generating Systemic Change with U-Pace Instruction, EDUCAUSE: Next Generation Learning Challenges, $284,144.
  4. Bringing the Success of U-Pace to Scale, EDUCAUSE: Next Generation Learning Challenges, $249,639.
  5. Bringing the Success of U-Pace to Urban Public High School Students, Committee on Baccalaureate Expansion (COBE) Grant, $64,425.
  6. Extending the Success of Students of Color in U-Pace Psych 101 to Increase Retention, UW System Administration Diversity Grant, $36,414.
  7. Evaluating the Success of Students of Color in U-Pace Psych 101 to Increase Retention, UW System Administration Closing the Achievement Gap Grant, $35,824.
  8. Blending Life and Learning: Increasing Access to Higher Education, Alfred P. Sloan Foundation, $500,000.

UWM’s Center for Excellence in Teaching and Learning (CETL) facilitates use of current and emerging best instructional practices and technologies. CETL offers:

  1. support for course and academic program development and curricular redesign from professional Center staff who regularly teach to stay attuned to the needs of students and instructor, and to test emerging technological innovations in their own courses before they are disseminated to the campus and beyond.
  2. more than 30 professional development programs for faculty, academic staff, and teaching assistants, including the CETL’s signature Online and Blended Teaching Program, which is offered in both a blended and a fully online format.
  3. a certificate in Online and Blended Teaching to instructors whose courses have been judged to be of high quality to merit the certificate, as well as, certificates in face-to-face teaching.
  4. rich resources to enhance quality in online/blended and face-to-face courses, and programs through the CETL website, which includes the Virtual Teaching Commons.
  5. consultations to foster teaching excellence and learning, and the Lazirko Award for Excellence in Teaching with Technology to recognize and promote quality in online learning.
  6. an annual Teaching and Learning Symposium bringing together instructors from a broad range of disciplines so they can share and gain knowledge of innovative digital, technology-based, and non-technology-based teaching and learning strategies that they can apply to enhance their teaching.

The university offers dedicated resources and staff to support the success of online students, including:

  1. Call-in help center
  2. Online tutoring, writing support, and supplemental instruction
  3. Comprehensive electronic library resources
  4. Library and information science staff with specialized expertise in supporting online students
  5. Professional academic advisors committed to assisting online students
  6. Outstanding instructors–the same faculty leading our classrooms and labs on campus–who have undergone state-of- the-art pedagogical and technology training to make their online courses as effective as possible