Voelz is new leader of Adult Degree Programs

Zach Voelz will assume the title of Director of Adult Degree Programs, according to Jan Thornton, associate provost for outreach and adult access. Voelz has worked for Adult Degree (formerly Extended Degree) for the past seven years and, throughout that time, has assumed increasing levels of responsibility. He will direct eight permanent staff people and a $1.7 million budget. Thornton had acted as director of the Program since Adult Degree became part of the Outreach Division five years ago. “Zach has had a great deal to do with the success of Adult Degree,” Thornton says of Voelz and his expertise in distance learning and instructing faculty in online strategies. “We look forward to seeing him take the program to the next level. He is a fine leader who will contribute not only to Adult Degree but to the entire institution in years to come.”

The unit Zach Voelz now directs has achieved significant growth. With contributions by Voelz and fellow staff members and faculty, Adult Degree Programs quintupled in size to nearly 600 students in the five years Thornton served as director. Actual course enrollments exceed 1,200 per semester. Prof. Denise Scheberle chairs the faculty Interdisciplinary Studies Executive Committee that oversees curriculum for the program, which makes bachelor’s degrees with a major in Interdisciplinary Studies accessible to nontraditional students who are unable to take advantage of UW-Green Bay’s traditionally delivered courses. Staff members also help promote the Bachelor of Business Administration degree offered at nontraditional times by Professional Programs in Business, in addition to the unit’s ongoing traditional BBA program. In the past year, nearly 50 new nontraditional students are pursuing a BBA at UWGB as a result of Adult Degree’s efforts on behalf of Business.