Emily Rippeto is among the first students in the first bachelor’s degree program to be offered at UW-Platteville’s Baraboo Sauk County campus.
“I’m very happy,” said Rippeto, of Reedsburg. “I wanted to attend UW-Platteville Baraboo Sauk County, but my end goal was always a bachelor’s degree. ... When I learned the bachelor’s program would be starting here, I was so happy.”
The first cohort of students enrolled this fall in the bachelor’s of business administration in management, or BBA, program. Rippeto is one of eight of them but that number isn’t reflective of all students who may pursue the BBA, because other students enrolled or were already enrolled in the campus’ associate degree program. There are 22 students in that program. With the new BBA opportunity, those students now may pursue the full four-year degree on campus.
Interim Chancellor Tammy Evetovich and other university leaders celebrated the successful rollout of the first UW-Platteville bachelor’s degree program at a branch campus last week.
College administrators knew that many students in the Baraboo area would like to earn a four-year degree but are for various reasons unable to move too far from home.
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“This program brings the four-year university to them,” said interim Chancellor Tammy Evetovich. “High-quality, skilled graduates are critical for regional economic development.
“With so many businesses in the Sauk County area, the bachelor of business administration degree will ensure success for both the students and businesses alike,” she said.
Rippeto, only weeks into the program, feels she made a good choice. “The personal touches here have made all the difference to me,” she said.
Though the program is brand new, Evetovich is already looking to the future.
“This program has proven we can successfully bring a bachelor’s degree to the Baraboo Sauk County campus, and it is something that students are excited for and the community and businesses are benefiting from,” she said.
The business management major begins with a wide knowledge base to familiarize students with all aspects of organizational management. Coursework, according to the college’s website, includes classes in supply-chain management, business ethics, corporate finance and microeconomics.
From there, students will customize the remainder of the program based on personal interests and career aspirations. The degree program includes an internship. At UW-Platteville, those internships led to full-time jobs more than 80% of the time, the university says.
The new program goes along with the Baraboo campus’s existing associate degree programs in the arts and sciences, business administration, food and agriculture, hospitality and tourism management, and pre-engineering.
