The Farm and Industry Short Course is undergoing drastic changes come next term. It will move from a 16-week accredited college experience to multiple, nonaccredited lessons. The new program will also be hybrid, offering both hands-on education as well as virtual components. The news comes as FISC has seen declining enrollment over the past decade and financial hardship.  

Roughly half of this year's students -- nearly 20 -- gathered in a conference room below their dorms in the Lowell Center to get their questions and concerns addressed by Associate Dean Karen Wassarman and FISC Director Jennifer Blazek about why the FISC program is undergoing changes and what that means for students going forward.

The overarching theme was frustration. Most students were agitated about online learning, losing their FISC community, the uncertainty about housing for the new programs, losing accreditation, having wasted time on taking prerequisites for a certificate that they can no longer earn next year and missing out on the college experience.

The response from leadership was simple: the FISC program from a financial perspective does not look good, and changes need to be made. This could be an opportunity to welcome greater demographics and to have focused, accelerated programs that continue to carry weight even though they don't come with college credits. 

The last FISC class, as it is, wraps up this month. 

Students Hannah Hensel and Leo Ehlen share their thoughts.

The Farm and Industry Short Course is undergoing drastic changes come next term. It will move from a 16-week accredited college experience to multiple, nonaccredited lessons. The new program will also be hybrid, offering both hands-on education as well as virtual components. The news comes as FISC has seen declining enrollment over the past decade and financial hardship.&nbsp;&nbsp;
Roughly half of this year's students -- nearly 20 -- gathered in a conference room below their dorms in the Lowell Center to get their questions and concerns addressed by Associate Dean Karen Wassarman and FISC Director Jennifer Blazek about why the FISC program is undergoing changes and what that means for students going forward.
The overarching theme was frustration. Most students were agitated about online learning, losing their FISC community, the uncertainty about housing for the new programs, losing accreditation, having wasted time on taking prerequisites for a certificate that they can no longer earn next year and missing out on the college experience.
The response from leadership was simple: the FISC program from a financial perspective does not look good, and changes need to be made. This could be an opportunity to welcome greater demographics and to have focused, accelerated programs that continue to carry weight even though they don't come with college credits.&nbsp;
The last FISC class, as it is, wraps up this month.&nbsp;
Students Hannah Hensel and Leo Ehlen share their thoughts.

Join Pam Jahnke for the latest farm news. Heard daily on WOZN 96.7 FM and 1670 AM in Madison Wisconsin from 5-6am. Also heard on affiliate stations all over Wisconsin.

Join Pam Jahnke for the latest farm news. Heard daily on WOZN 96.7 FM and 1670 AM in Madison Wisconsin from 5-6am. Also heard on affiliate stations all over Wisconsin.

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