Smaller Wisconsin college campuses struggle; declining enrollment
WEST BEND, Wis. - While Cardinal Stritch University plans to close its doors, other small colleges are also struggling with dwindling enrollment. Now, one county wants to combine two campuses into one, but it is not a done deal.
Washington County has two, two-year colleges, both with declining numbers.
"The main thing is fewer people in the state of Wisconsin," said Gov. Tony Evers.
Gov. Tony Evers
"Just like every institution of higher ed in the United States right now, schools across Wisconsin are looking at enrollment declines. There are just fewer young people in Wisconsin and fewer young people who are taking this path to get a degree," said Liv Hwang, UWM Vice Chancellor for Marketing, Communications.
When UWM at Washington County first started in 2018, the student population was in the mid-700s. Now, the student body is just 339.
UWM at Washington County
Washington County's higher ed task force had looked at options for the future. It called to "combine the resources from UWM at Washington County and the Moraine Park Technical College West Bend campus to create a community college concept in West Bend under the governance of Moraine Park Technical College."
The Washington County Board voted 19-2 to approve a non-binding resolution calling for setting up a pilot program, combining resources of both schools.
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"I really like the idea because we can work together, we can find efficiencies, we can find ways to save both of these institutions and keep them going in Washington County," said Denis Kelling, Washington County Supervisor.
"A lot of other states have four-year schools and community colleges. For some reason, Wisconsin has four-year schools and then two-year liberal arts schools and two year tech schools, and it’s a big redundancy," said Christopher Bossert, Washington County Supervisor.
UWM at Washington County
UWM says it was not an official member of the Washington County's task force – and that Washington County cannot decide on its own what to do with the UWM at Washington County campus.
"For UWM, the voices of our faculty, staff and students are really critical and so the process up to this point has not engaged fully that faculty, staff, student participation and before anything else really happens, that is a critical component for us," Hwang said. "While we appreciate that the county is engaged and invested in what higher ed looks like in the county, we also want to make sure that conversation is happening on campus, because the folks that are impacted the most have to be engaged in that process."
Liv Hwang
"I don't think we're going to push either system into something that they think is a bad marriage," said Gov. Evers. "That's something that they can figure out themselves. But the two-year campuses are struggling with not everyone but some of them are struggling, and they’re looking for ways to combine and work together with the local technical colleges."
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What is next in Washington County -- that is still an open question.