New general education policy will make transferring between UW campuses easier

Universities of Wisconsin students will have an easier time transferring general education credits from one campus to another after the Board of Regents approved a new core general education policy this week. 

Beginning in September, up to 12 courses and 36 credit hours will be standardized across UW’s 13 campuses.  Each campus can set its own policies to fit into the guidelines. 

The core classes will be in six broad categories: mathematics and quantitative reasoning, communication and literacy, social and behavioral sciences, humanities and arts, natural science and wellness, and civics and perspectives.

The policy change was a requirement included by legislators in the 2025-27 Biennial Budget. 

Multiple Regents said making the process more seamless for students to transfer was long overdue.

But they felt the timeline set by the Wisconsin Legislature was rushed. 

Regent and State Superintendent Jill Underly said she wants to make sure the changes preserve the integrity of liberal arts education and ensure campus autonomy. 

“We are a system, and we should behave like one when it comes to how credits are handled.” Underly said. “Transfer students deserve clarity, they deserve predictability and they deserve fairness when they move between our campuses.” 

Professors opposed, students divided on issue

Peter Hart-Brinson, a sociology professor at UW-Eau Claire and president of the United Faculty and Staff union, said there was widespread opposition to the core general education policy on campus.

Hart-Brinson said the student senate at UW-Eau Claire passed a resolution in support of the existing general education curriculum 32-2.

“Not just faculty but also students don’t want the curriculum changed,” Hart-Brinson said. “So it was very disappointing to me that the Board of Regents acted against the interest of everybody who is going to be affected by this.”

But Regent Desmond Adongo, who is currently enrolled at UW-Oshkosh, said he did his own study on campus. 

Adongo said he asked about 25 students about the changes being made to core classes so transfers would be easier. 

“Every single instance was a positive,” Adongo said. 

One student told Adongo he transfered from UW-Green Bay to UW-Oshkosh and had to retake a course because it had a different title. 

“In today’s economy, it’s not just a couple hundred bucks, that was a significant amount of money and time,” Adongo said. 

UW System President Jay Rothman believes the students surveyed at UW-Oshkosh reflect how the majority of students across the system feel.

“We think this is a good thing for our students, and a good step forward for us,” Rothman said. “It provides clarity around credit transfer. We think as a result of that it will save them time and money and increase their speed to graduation. And also allow them to take other electives.”

Rothman said that having one core credit system will also make dual enrollment opportunities and transfers easier.

The UW System is also working with the Wisconsin Technical College System to eventually make it easier for students to transfer credits between the two entities.