Program Description
The School of Freshwater Sciences has developed a partnership with the Water Council and local technical colleges to recruit students interested in water science. Students interested in transferring to UWM receive mentoring prior to arrival on campus, and opportunities aimed at progressing toward their bachelor’s degree. UWM works closely with the UW-System office to replicate the project at additional UW campuses. Students participating in the program are recruited from Milwaukee Area Technical College, Waukesha County Technical College, and Gateway Technical College.
UWM Report: Water Program Links Students to Careers
The WATER SYS-STEM program is made possible through a collaboration with the Business and Higher Education Forum (BHEF). BHEF developed an Undergraduate STEM Interventions with Industry (USI2) program through a National Science Foundation grant. USI2 recruited 5 regional academic member sites with strong local business partners to implement evidence-based interventions. These were designed to increase student persistence and completion in STEM disciplines, producing a diverse, highly skilled talent pool equipped with workplace competencies required by businesses. The consortium will work to both raise the number of community college transfer students to four-year institutions, and to provide the support and guidance needed to ensure their completion of an undergraduate degree in a STEM discipline.
BHEF academic member sites and their business partners include:
- The Miami Dade College and NextEra Energy
- The Northeastern University and IBM / Raytheon
- The University of Wisconsin-Milwaukee and The Water Council
- The University of Missouri-St. Louis/Washington University in St. Louis and Boeing Company
- The City University of New York and IBM
Why are Companies Getting Involved?