CHAPTER 1 - THE UNIVERSITY OF WISCONSIN SYSTEM AND THE UNIVERSITY OF WISCONSIN-STEVENS POINT

SECTION 2 UNIVERSITY OF WISCONSIN - STEVENS POINT: GENERAL INFORMATION

(To see who has authority to approve changes to this section, please see the Approval of Changes page).

• Historical Overview

• Mission Statements

• Accreditation and Memberships

• Majors, Minors, and Graduate Programs

HISTORICAL OVERVIEW

Since its establishment in 1894 as Stevens Point Normal School, the university has served the state and its citizens in the preparation of teachers for the public schools. Two- and three-year curricula were offered until 1927, when the school was renamed Stevens Point Teachers College and became a degree-granting institution.

In 1951, after liberal arts degrees were authorized by the state, Stevens Point Teachers College became Wisconsin State College, Stevens Point, and a letters and science division was established. Graduate work was inaugurated in the summer of 1960 as a cooperative program with the other nine state college institutions and the University of Wisconsin (graduate studies became a full-time, independent, academic-year program in the fall of 1966). Partially as a result of the establishment of graduate programs–many of the first graduate students were in-service teachers–separate schools were created for education and applied arts in 1961. Later, in 1963, a separate school was established for fine arts.

On July 1, 1964, the name of the institution became Wisconsin State University-Stevens Point. The schools were officially designated colleges on July 1, 1967. The College of Professional Studies and the College of Natural Resources were established in 1970. On July 9, 1974, under the law merging the University of Wisconsin and the Wisconsin State Universities, the institution became the University of Wisconsin-Stevens Point. The university offers a variety of curricula in general education, liberal and applied arts, fine arts, pre-professional study, teacher education, adult education, and natural resources.

In 1994-1995, UWSP celebrated its centennial, for which Justus Paul, Professor of History and Dean of the College of Letters and Science, wrote a detailed history of the University. Copies of The World Is Ours are available through the University Foundation.

MISSION STATEMENTS

In addition to sharing in the mission of the University of Wisconsin System, UWSP shares in the core mission of the university cluster and has its own select mission. All mission statements have been approved by the Board.

UNIVERSITY CLUSTER MISSION.

• Each university in the cluster shall:

• offer associate and baccalaureate degree level and selected graduate programs within the context of its approved mission statement;

• offer an environment that emphasizes teaching excellence and meets the educational and personal needs of students through effective teaching, academic advising, counseling, and through university-sponsored cultural, recreational, and extracurricular programs;

• offer a core of liberal studies that supports university degrees in the arts, letters, and sciences, as well as specialized professional/technical degrees at the associate and baccalaureate levels;

• offer a program of pre-professional curricular offerings consistent with the university’s mission;

• expect scholarly activity, including research, scholarship, and creative endeavor, that supports its programs at the associate and baccalaureate degree levels, its selected graduate programs, and its approved mission statement;

• promote the integration of the extension function, assist the University of Wisconsin-Extension in meeting its responsibility for statewide coordination, and encourage faculty and staff participation in outreach activity;

• participate in inter-institutional relationships in order to maximize educational opportunity for the people of the state effectively and efficiently through the sharing of resources;

• serve the needs of women, minority, disadvantaged, disabled, and nontraditional students and seek racial and ethnic diversification of the student body and the professional faculty and staff; and

• support activities designed to promote the economic development of the state.

SELECT MISSION STATEMENT.

In addition to the Core Mission of the University Cluster Institutions, the select mission of UW-Stevens Point is to provide programs that help communities become more vibrant, healthy, prosperous, and sustainable. We accomplish this by providing a broad foundation in the fine arts, humanities, natural sciences, and social sciences for associate and baccalaureate degrees.

Our commitment to helping communities thrive requires that we provide education, research and outreach in a wide array of disciplines, with particular emphases at the baccalaureate level in integrated natural resources management and environmental education; in the performing and visual arts; and in areas such as business, health and wellness professions, communicative disorders, design, select engineering programs, family and consumer sciences, information science, paper science, social work, and teacher education.

UW-Stevens Point provides select master’s programs in business, communication, communication sciences and disorders, health care, health promotion, natural resources, teacher education, wellness, and other select areas clearly associated with this university’s undergraduate emphases. UW-Stevens Point provides a clinical doctoral program in audiology, as well as professional doctoral programs in select areas of strength at the master’s level.

UW-Stevens Point puts special emphasis on promoting inclusivity, advancing human wellness, providing excellent academic support resources, offering extensive study abroad and international programs, and providing a robust array of UW-Extension programs.

ACCREDITATION

ACCREDITATION.

The University of Wisconsin-Stevens Point is accredited by The Higher Learning Commission, a member of the North Central Association, to offer undergraduate college programs leading to the bachelor’s degree and graduate programs leading to the master’s and select doctoral degrees. They can be reached at:

The Higher Learning Commission
30 North LaSalle Street, Suite 2400
Chicago, Illinois 60602-2504
312-263-0456; 800-621-7440; Fax 312-263-7462
www.hlcommission.org/

Accreditation for individual departments and programs within UW-Stevens Point can be found here.

MAJORS, MINORS, AND GRADUATE PROGRAMS

The University of Wisconsin-Stevens Point is authorized to confer Associate, Bachelor of Arts, Bachelor of Applied Studies, Bachelor of Fine Arts, Bachelor of Music, Bachelor of Science, Bachelor of Science in Nursing, Master of Arts, Master of Science in Education, Master of Music Education, Master of Science, Master of Natural Resources, Master of Science in Teaching, Clinical Doctorate in Audiology (Au.D.) with UW-Madison, and Educational Sustainability Doctorate (Ed.D.) degrees.

Please refer to the latest University Catalog for specific information on majors and minors, concentrations, options, areas of emphasis, teacher certification, and kinds of graduate degrees available, or contact the Office of the Registrar.