The past year, we’ve been working on building the next chapter of the UW Flexible Option. As part of an initiative called “Flex 2.0” we are making dozens of improvements, some will impact you directly, others are behind the scenes. We are excited to launch Flex 2.0 in July 2020, and would like to share with you how your experience will be made even better.
Most importantly, the core features of what you know about your program are not changing: we are still 100% online, asynchronous, at-your-own-pace, and competency-based. We surveyed all students in Spring 2019 and heard loud and clear these features were critical to you. Many of the changes below are pending final HLC approval in the coming months.
So what is changing, and how will those changes impact you?
Information on this page will continually update as additional program changes or clarifications are announced.
[Note: We’ve been working on the below changes for over a year with a plan to launch in July. That is still the case, but with the evolving COVID-19 situation there may be potential delays or changes. We’ll communicate this to you as we learn more.]
We are making a number of changes to the academic calendar to better facilitate your success. ***The timing of the calendar changes is dependent on approval of program changes by the Higher Learning Commission. Here is a chart that summarizes how some key subscription period dates are (or aren’t) changing. Flex 2.0 (July 2020) There are three major changes happening with tuition, and how you pay for your degree. In Flex 2.0, you will start a new award year. Please make sure to complete a 2020-2021 FAFSA (https://studentaid.gov/h/apply-for-aid/fafsa). A new ‘Award Letter’ will be sent to your main campus email address. It will indicate what your next steps are. In Flex 2.0, you should share your academic or curricular questions directly with the faculty member of your course. You’ll no longer go through your ASC on these topics. You’ll also notice that some of your faculty will begin offering office hours, others may begin hosting optional webinars, and other faculty may reach out directly to you to check in on how your academic progress is coming. Why the change? In our survey of all current and prior UW Flexible Option students, students were interested in more opportunities to meaningfully engage with faculty. And our faculty felt the same – they too were interested in connecting even more with their students. Your ASC isn’t going away – they’ll still remain your adviser, coach, and general support to help you maximize your success in this program. The PR grade is a key feature of the UW Flexible Option, and allows our students the ability to pick up their coursework right where they left off in their next subscription period. The PR grade is not going away, but there are now an additional policy around it. Courses may need to be restarted if you enroll later than one year If you earn a PR grade, you should enroll in that course within one year of earning the PR grade in order to pick up where you left off. You can still enroll in the course after one year – the faculty will evaluate your prior work and determine if your work is no longer current and if you have to start from the beginning again. For example, if you enroll in a course in January 2020, and at the end of course you earn a PR, you’ll need to re-enroll by the following January 2021 to ensure your work moves forward. Why the change? This policy change will affect very few enrollments – nearly 99% of students with a PR grade re-enroll in that course within a year. But there have been a few who have re-enrolled in a course 2 – 3 years after earning a PR grade and they have struggled to remember what they’ve already done and their overall learning experience has suffered as a result. This policy change reflects what we’ve learned is good for student learning – and to keep you best setup for success. In Flex 2.0, we’re taking steps to simplify some of our language. It will make our programming easier to understand, and more importantly, easier to navigate. Here are a few examples of language changes: UW-Parkside students will still enroll in “Projects” – that term will change to “Course” at a future date. Currently, the UW Flexible Option is called “Direct Assessment” – which is a classification for the U.S. Department of Education and our accreditor, the Higher Learning Commission. In Flex 2.0, we are changing to a new classification, called “Credit-Based” competency-based education. The core things you know about competency-based education and how you navigate our coursework won’t change. But there are a few areas this impacts your experience. This change is pending final HLC approval. Why the change? This means you are no longer earning “credit equivalents” on your transcript, but rather, you’re now earning “credits” – so this change normalizes our programs within the context of higher education at large. Since you’re earning credit hours, you can also begin to expect more ways to interact directly with your faculty (as noted above). Further, credits come with an average time expectation (the federal standard is 3 hours per week for every 1 credit hour, on average). Our programs are still going to be competency-based and go-at-your-own-pace. Some courses you may still finish quicker, and other courses you may still finish slower: however, on average, you’ll be able to reasonably expect to spend a certain amount of time with your course materials based on how many credits are assigned. If you are receiving Federal Financial Aid, we will communicate with you individually if this change impacts you. Please know that we will take care of any financial aid costs associated with the transition.Academic Calendar & Subscription Period Length
Feature
Current State
Frequency of Starts
12 starts a year (monthly)
12 starts a year (monthly)
Start Dates
2nd of every month
1st or 2nd Tuesday of every month
Subscription Length
3 whole months (89 – 92 days, depending on month)
Fixed at 81 days (approximately 12 weeks) – no longer variable
Break between subscription periods
1 day
10 days
Tuition Due Date
10th day of subscription period
8th day of subscription period
Registration Deadline
10th day of subscription period (All You Can Learn can still add courses throughout subscription)
1 day prior to subscription period start (All You Can Learn can still add courses throughout subscription)
50% tuition refund period
11th-20th day of subscription period
9th-20th day of subscription period
Drop deadline without a “W”
25th day of subscription period
25th day of subscription period
Drop deadline with a “W”
15th day of 2nd month of subscription period
48th day of subscription period
Tuition Changes
Financial Aid
Faculty & ASC Interactions
The PR (in-progress) Grade
Language Changes
Old Term
New Term
Competency Set
Course
Competency Set Orientation Guide
Syllabus
Credit Hour Equivalent
Credit Hour
Transfer Credit Equivalency
Transfer Credit
Single Competency Set Option
Single Course Option
Direct Assessment Competency-Based Education