News
Wisconsin’s Farm and Industry Short Course to undergo changes
The University of Wisconsin’s Farm and Industry Short Course is undergoing some changes.
College of Agriculture and Life Sciences Dean Kate VandenBosch says the current 16-week residential student format no longer meets the needs of many farmers and other agribusiness owners who can’t spare workers for four months in a year and who no longer see winter as a ‘down-time’ for their businesses.
VandenBosch says starting next year, the short course will be non-credit and participants will have the flexibility to take the courses they want, as time allows. She says there will be in-person and virtual formats, and some programs offered on nights and weekends.
Dean Kate Vanden Bosch
As a graduate of the College of Agriculture in 1963 and a winner of the “Award of Distinction” in 1992, I was very disappointed by the college decision to radically change the teaching agenda of the Short Course program.
When I look back at my Dairy Farming career I was always amazed at the success of many great dairy farmers who were Short Courses graduates. Also many others started with short course agenda and moved on to a four year program for more intense studies. Short Course was a very successful way of sowing seeds that allowed students to become very successful in their life.
As a past WASSA board member I remember that professors privately would reflecting on the question from those short course students that they never thought about. Those questions would also helped them become better researchers in the future.
I know that because of COVID short course enrollment has become an unprofitable model. Most of all, I really feel that if it is eventually phased out, the superior success of Wisconsin Agriculture will be short changed.
Please, let’s the college intensively promote this short course program into a profitable agenda so that it can remain successful program for the state.
Thank You
Alan Koepke