Quick Facts
About CPS Students
- CPS has 1743 undergraduate and 270 graduate students enrolled.
- Of new CPS freshmen, 34% were in the top 10% of their high school class.
- The average GPA of incoming CPS freshmen is 3.36; the average ACT score is 21.6.
- In 2004-05, UWSP awarded 296 undergraduate degrees and 79 graduate degrees to CPS students.
- In 2005, 150 CPS students received academic scholarships totaling $82,500. Our Military Science department awarded an additional $110,000 in scholarships to twelve student-cadets; $80,000 in monthly stipends to 23 cadets; and, $10,000 for books and supplies.
- Most CPS students are from Wisconsin, Minnesota and other mid-western states. However, we have students currently enrolled from US states as far away as Washington, Georgia and Florida. We also have students who have come quite a distance, from countries such as British Honduras, Chile, China, Hong Kong, India, Japan, Peru and Saudi Arabia.
- Many of our students learn about other cultures through UWSP study abroad opportunities. Sixty-two CPS students traveled abroad this year. One-in-five CPS students will study abroad at sometime during their college careers.
- CPS Students pass national qualifying exams for their professions at scores well above the national average. Clinical Lab Science students are passing at 95% compared to 65% nationally, with one student scoring highest in the nation. Communicative Disorders students are at 95-100% vs. 75% nationally, and Dietetics students pass at 98% vs. 84%. Athletic Training students passed at 100% last year.
- Ninety-three percent of the graduates in the class of 2004 were either hired in positions within their field or went on to graduate or professional schools. Fifteen percent pursued graduate or other advanced degrees immediately upon graduation.
- CPS has 17 student professional organizations with over 800 active members. Last year, the Student Wisconsin Education Association (StWEA) won best chapter in the nation for the sixth year in a row; and, four CLS students received prestigious national scholarship awards form the American Society of Clinical Laboratory Science.
About Academic Programs in CPS
- CPS consists of seven academic units, which house 11 different undergraduate majors, 13 minors and four graduate programs.
- Health Sciences (HS) offers Bachelor's Degrees in Clinical Laboratory Science emphasizing in Medical Technology, Cytotechnology, Histotechnology. CLS also prepares students for pre-professional programs in Nursing, Physical Therapy and Occupational Therapy.
- Communicative Disorders (COMD) offers Bachelor's Degrees in Communicative Disorders, Master's Degrees in Speech and Language Pathology and a Clinical Doctorate in Audiology.
- School of Education (SOE) offers Bachelor's Degrees in Early Childhood Education, Elementary Education, and Exceptional Education and minors in Early Childhood Special Education and Exceptional Educational Needs, and SOE also offers Master's Degrees in Education. SOE also provides the required education coursework for all UWSP teacher certification programs.
- Interior Architecture (IA) offers Bachelor's Degrees in Interior Architecture.
- Health, Exercise Science and Athletics offers Bachelor's Degrees in Physical Education and Athletic Training, and minors in Health Education, Coaching, Adventure Education and Strength & Conditioning. HESA also offers an 860 add-on in Adapted Physical Education.
- Health Promotion & Human Development offers Bachelor's Degrees in Dietetics, Family & Consumer Sciences emphasizing in Teacher Education and Family Life Education and Health Promotion emphasizing in Corporate Health, Community Health, and Fitness Leadership, minors in Child & Family Studies, Nutritional Sciences and Strength and Conditioning, and Master's Degrees in Nutritional Sciences and Human & Community Resources.
- Military Science offers a minor in Military Science.
- The clinical doctorate in Audiology (AUD) is offered in collaboration with UW-Madison and is the first doctorate degree offered by a Wisconsin state university college.
- Most CPS programs are accredited by national accrediting bodies, including the American Dietetics Association, the American Speech Language and Hearing Association, the Foundation of Interior Design Education Research, the National Association of Schools of Art and Design, the Commission on the Accreditation of Allied Health Education Programs, and the National Accrediting Agency for Clinical Laboratory Science.
- CPS has been recognized as being well above the national norm in the area of active and collaborative learning by the National Survey of Student Engagement (NSSE). We believe that this is a result of college value placed on high quality teaching and learning.
- Students in CPS gain professional competence through active and collaborative learning experiences in one or more of our teaching-learning laboratories, fieldwork, or service learning courses. Last year CPS students participated in more than 100 community-based practical experiences.
About CPS Staff
- Currently, CPS employs 46 faculty, 38 academic staff and 15 classified staff. In addition, CPS employs 15 graduate students through graduate assistantships and another 195 undergraduate students who hold part-time positions within the college.
- Of CPS faculty, 100% hold a PhD or terminal degree.
- CPS faculty published 38 scholarly articles and presented 55 papers at professional conferences in 2005. On occasion CPS faculty will also publish books. This year, Dr. Dayle Upham (Education) authored a book about her personal struggles and triumphs with a learning disability titled Making The Grade.
- CPS faculty are actively involved in their professions, holding active membership in 107 professional organizations and leadership positions within 36 of those.
- Ninety-eight percent of faculty members have completed the College Teaching Partners Program, a program designed to facilitate teacher growth and development.
- Last year ten CPS faculty members were awarded extramural grants totaling $307,500. The largest of those grants will be used to recruit Hmong Americans into our teacher education programs.
UWSP Athlectics are part of CPS
- We offer 10 women's and eight men's intercollegiate sports, 22 club sports and dozens of intramural opportunities.
- Grade point averages of athletes are higher than non-athletes, and of the 603 athletes in 2005, 347 achieved GPAs of 3.0 or better.
- UWSP teams finished with a combined 191-73-5 record, and six of those teams won WIAC conference championships.
- Our athletic program was recognized as the best overall athletic program in the Wisconsin Interscholastic Athletic Conference last year and placed 5th in the NACDA directors cup competition which recognizes overall athletic performance compared to all of the other 433 NCAA III athletic programs.
- In 2005, UWSP crowned 24 individual All-Americans, and three received national recognition as the NCAA III players of the year in their sport!
- Senior Tara Schmitt was named the 2005 Wisconsin Women's Athlete of the year in all sports and all divisions.
- The men's basketball team won its second consecutive NCAA III championship, and five other teams placed in the top ten nationally.
CPS Values
- CPS is oriented to collaboration, opportunity, continuous improvement, a focus on teaching, and ethics/values in the professional fields.
- Students and faculty are enriched by collaborating with those who work in the field. We create rich practicum and internship sites for our students, and our faculty work with their professional colleagues in reflective practice.
- We view change as a productive opportunity for growth and stay attuned to new needs of our fields and community.
- CPS focuses attention on teaching by making a conscious effort to spend time and resources highlighting teaching. We also support the value of scholarship and service.
CPS of Note
- The College of Professional Studies was established in 1970.
- The College of Professional Studies Building was built in 1971. Currently, four campus buildings house the seven academic units that make up CPS (College of Professional Studies Building, Health Enhancement Center, Science Building, and Student Services Building).
- CPS has had only two deans. The first was Art Fritschel, and the second is our current Dean Dr. Joan North. Joan is the longest acting dean in college history (21 years).
- CPS has 28 classrooms that can seat 1050 students at any given time. The largest classroom is CPS 116, which has 120 seats. All classrooms are updated with the latest in technology, including Elmos. What is an Elmo? An Elmo is a device that can project crystal clear, full-color images from any source onto a screen the size of a wall.
- More than 250 computers are available in CPS, and all CPS buildings have wireless internet capabilities. Laptops are a mandatory technology for Interior Architecture students who learn using the latest in professional design software.
- Many CPS students learn "at a distance" through Internet and ETV courses. This year, 25 different instructors will teach more than 170 courses in this way.
- CPS houses the two oldest UWSP academic programs. The School of Education has its origins in the early Education Degrees that were awarded in 1894 during the founding days of UWSP (then called Stevens Point Normal School). Current degrees in Dietetics, Family & Consumer Sciences, and Interior Architecture had their roots in the Domestic Sciences program, which started back in 1902. The Domestic Science program also has the distinction of being the first in Wisconsin and among the first in the US.
- Among the most accomplished CPS graduates are Early Childhood Education researcher and author Arnold Gesell (1899), Shawn Granger McBride (COMD, BS 1972, MS 1973) CEO of Paul Prudhomme Industries, Bill Lyons (IA-1995) VP of the Perkins + Will multidisciplinary design firm, and long-time Wisconsin Superintendent of Public Instruction Herbert Grover (SOE-1967).
- CPS students with prominence in athletics are professional basketball All-Star and Milwaukee Bucks coach Terry Porter (1993), professional football player and current linebacker for the Pittsburg Steelers Clint Kriewaldt (IA-1994-1998), Health Promotion graduate Jeff Justman (1996) who leads expeditions to many of the world's tallest peaks, including Mount Everest, and Jim Lombardo (COMD- BS 1970, MS 1971) creator of the NFL player-coach communication system and appointed Audiological Consultant to the NFL.