By Elizabeth Swift, MSPM, BSAD Advisor

Your academic advisor is here to serve you in a variety of ways. Though we will contact you several times as you progress through your program, we invite you to contact us anytime we can be of assistance. We are here to

• Advocate: First and foremost, academic advisors are advocates for all distance learning students. Our goal is to create an environment that allows you to communicate effectively with all parties involved.
• Trouble-shoot: Your academic advisor is your point-person during your entire journey at the University of Wisconsin-Platteville. When you have questions or concerns related to school, your advisor is a great starting point. Although we cannot answer every question, we can refer you to the appropriate resource or facilitate communication until your question is answered.
• Explain: Your advisor can explain most policies and procedures related to distance education.
• Connect: We act as a liaison between students, faculty, and academic staff. We are a great resource if you need a conversation facilitated or initiated, but don’t know where to begin.
• Guide: Your advisor can be a great resource for you. Consider us your guide during your “tour of the UW-Platteville distance learning system.” We make sure that your questions are answered and your academic goals are realistic, while connecting you to important resources. We can evaluate your academic path to ensure that your best interest is at the forefront of every decision.

We want to hear from you. And, we want to make our services as useful as possible, so please complete the advisor survey at the end of every semester. That way, your advisor can know what’s working and what’s not. We’re here for you!

By Kelly Curtiss

Your credit evaluation documents are your golden ticket toward completing and earning your undergraduate degree. Even more important is to use them to create your academic plan. If you pencil in your courses at least two semesters out, we can work together to ensure you are meeting and scheduling prerequisite courses as needed.

On the Business Administration Course Offerings page, you will find the necessary information to help you plan:

• Course prerequisites
• Formats offered (print-based and/or online)
• Online course rotation by semester

A couple of other questions you should tackle when planning your academic schedule are:

• How long is it going to take me to earn my undergraduate degree?
• Am I being realistic about reaching my goal?

Example
Suppose you have 46 credits left to complete your degree. It is your intention and plan to take two courses (six credits) a semester during the fall and spring, but not summer. Thus you will be enrolled in a total of 12 credits a year. At this rate, you could expect to earn your degree in about four years. Does this match your goals? Do you want to be done sooner? If so, you will need to make some adjustments to the number of credits you take each semester or consider completing courses during the summer session.

You are the best judge of how much you are capable of handling. However, as your advisors, Elizabeth Swift and I are happy to provide guidance by reviewing your plan and answering any questions you might have along the way. We are here to help and look forward to keeping each of you on the path to graduation.

By Ian Clark, Staff Writer

Fall graduation has come and gone, and while dreams of tassel-turning and diplomas swim in the heads of those soon to have the opportunity to shake hands with the chancellor this May, it might a bittersweet 'congratulations' for those without a serious job prospect.

According to cnn.com, spring graduates had a rough time this past year suffering through the economy and battling each other for the 40% fewer job prospects compared to those of 2008. CNN also said that, while the job market is better, this is no time to put your feet up. With national unemployment up-now at 10.2% per CNN-the well-prepared student may find him or herself living at home with mom and dad. Don’t believe me? Nearly one in seven college grads moved home for an extended period last summer (according to Pew Research Center), and not much has changed in the job market since then.

While there are options in this economy, those options are few and far between, and to land one of them in your field, you need deep commitment, great networking and a little luck. Don’t settle for a job that will “just get the bills paid.” Take a step towards the career you want and consider a better option than scanning the classifieds: graduate school.

It’s not for everyone. Without knowing your longer-term career goals, it’s a mistake to enroll in graduate school. The University of Wisconsin-Platteville has some wonderful resources for those who are questioning or interested: namely the Career Center and Counseling Services.

If you are interested, a graduate degree can act as a stepping stone to a higher paying job and make people immediately more marketable than their baccalaureate-holding peers.

According to Roger Meyer, the director of UWP University Counseling Services, an advanced degree can do all of these things, depending on the specific degree and the job market within the field. “Advanced degrees commonly tend to make people more money and make them more marketable in general compared to someone with a bachelor’s degree.”

Employers will consider more than just your degree when seeking to hire, said Meyer. “The best way to make yourself marketable is to get your bachelor’s and work for one to three years to build up your work experience within the field. Then get your master’s degree. Also, the willingness to relocate can be very important. When you are geographically limited, options can be severely reduced, and oftentimes who you know can become as important as what you know.”

Wisconsin, Illinois and Iowa have 130 graduate schools, with 31 schools in the Badger State. In the area of Southwest Wisconsin, there is UW-Madison and Edgewood College, Clarke College, Loras College and the University of Dubuque. UWP also has great graduate options offering master’s degrees in engineering, project management, and criminal justice through the Distance Learning Center in addition to on-campus graduate programs in computer science, counselor education, industrial technology management, and education.

Employers want to hire people who are lifetime learners. Fields and industries will progress, things will change, and “to be hirable later on, it often helps to have an advanced degree depending on the field you choose,” said Diana Trendt, director of the UWP Career Center. “Students interested should also talk with their advisor or faculty, because they often have some very valuable insight into their specific field.”

As the spring season approaches, flowers defrost and tassels turn, think about your future and consider the advantages a graduate degree can offer.

Ian Clark is a staff writer at the UW-Platteville Distance Learning Center, which offers online master’s degrees in engineering, criminal justice, and project management.

by Travis Courtney, Student Services Coordinator

The Distance Learning Center’s Virtual Advisor is a unique combination of an interactive FAQ page and a logic-based search tool designed to give you immediate access to the information you’re looking for without searching several web pages.

Since its implementation in 2006, more than 10,000 people have asked questions in their own words and received an answer within seconds. With Virtual Advisor, you can

• Ask your own questions
• Pick from a list of questions related yours
• Browse a list of pre-populated topic areas
• Provide feedback to tell us if the answer is useful

Try it out today and let us know what you think about Virtual Advisor.

by Kelly Curtiss, Associate Advisor

Welcome to another semester at UW-Platteville! I have taken over as the academic advisor for the undergraduate business administration distance learners. I have really enjoyed the first two months at this university and at this campus. I hope that by working with those of you who are pursuing your business degree through UW-Platteville, I can offer a bit of the opportunity that this institution offers all its students.

The first step you took was deciding to attain a higher education and enrolling at UW-Platteville. The second step is staying on track. Higher education will open more doors of opportunity for you—especially in these harder economic times.

So what do you need to do to stay on track? You need to keep track of what courses you have completed, and what you have left. This will help you minimize the time needed to earn your degree, therefore, maximizing your efforts. Registration will begin Monday, March 2nd, for those interested in taking online summer courses. If you plan on taking courses then, please contact me (or your own advisor if in a different program) to ensure that you stay on track.

We, as your advisors, are a tool to be used. EXAMPLE: No one intends to use their hands to dig a large hole. So why would you try to plan your college career without the use of your academic advisor? Besides helping you with possible course selection and with study ideas, we also want to be a door of communication. Sometimes we may not have the answer or be the right person to go to, but we can point you in the right direction!

Best of luck to all students in reaching their higher education goals!

By Travis Courtney, Student Services Coordinator

Not as familiar with our web site as you would like to be? Are you away from your home computer and your convenient list of bookmarks? Tired of scrolling through the results listing of the typical site search function? No problem! Let the Distance Learning Center’s "Virtual Advisor" do the work for you! Simply ask a question in your own words and gain immediate access to the information you're looking for within seconds, all without having to navigate through pages of web content. Each user has the ability to ask their own questions, pick from a list of questions related those just asked, browse a list of pre-populated topic areas and provide feedback regarding how useful the answer was that they received.



Although the tool has quickly become a popular alternative allowing our students to receive prompt and accurate feedback, it is not a replacement for -- but a supplement to -- contacting our Student Services Team. We still strongly encourages all students to contact us by phone; however, we are excited that this resource has allowed our web visitors to find what they’re looking for more quickly and effectively. Try it out today here.

Please send comments and feedback to Travis Courtney in the Distance Learning Center at courtnet@uwplatt.edu.

By Kim Maier, Outreach Specialist

Hmm…what to do? Get a degree or not? Have you ever thought or been told that if you earn a degree, you'll be presented with many more career options and advancements? Well, if you have, I’m here to tell you that it's right!

With earning a degree, whether it's a bachelor's or a master's degree, you'll have opportunities knocking at your door. "Well, I just don’t have the time," you say? That's entirely understandable, but with all the technology and different resources to get a degree, you should be able to find a format to fit your busy lifestyle.

With earning a degree online at the University of Wisconsin-Platteville, you're able to log into your courses any time that it's convenient for you. Our programs were designed for the busy adult like you. We understand that you're busy with your job, the family, the next huge work project that is due soon, the hungry dog...Whew! What more can you add to your plate? How about a degree from UW-Platteville? Here are just a few of the benefits from the program: convenience, flexibility, personal attention, reputation, career value, and learning leadership. For more information about any of our programs, please visit our web site.