UWM at Waukesha closing in 2025; WCTC to help with transition
WAUKESHA, Wis. - The University of Wisconsin-Milwaukee announced on Monday, March 11, that the UWM at Waukesha campus will close after the spring 2025 semester in response to a directive from the Universities of Wisconsin.
This comes after the UW System announced the ending of in-person instruction at two other campuses and closed UW-Platteville at Richland.
UWM officials say they know this news won't necessarily be welcomed, but they do have a plan in place for students impacted.
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"It is certainly disappointing for many of our employees when you have this type of news; we do see opportunities for our students for our employees," said UWM Chancellor Mark Mone.
Mone says a drop in enrollment and funding are to blame. At the Waukesha campus, school leaders say enrollment declined 65% from 2014 to 2023. This year (2024) it went down another 13%. There are currently about 550 full-time students.
"At the same time, our operations in the College of General Studies at Waukesha are as expensive per student as they are on our main campus, but the revenue is half," added Mone.
He says state funding decreased, so colleges like UWM relied on tuition, but with fewer people enrolling, that was unsustainable.
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As part of the closure, UWM and Waukeska County Technical College are partnering up.
"We’re able to assume the students coming over from UWM Waukesha really fairly seamlessly both in space and with faculty. I imagine we’d have to hire some faculty," said WCTC President Rich Barnhouse.
WCTC says it will hire UWM Waukesha employees as enrollment grows.
Eventually, WCTC says it will develop the 'UWM University Center' which will allow students to continue a four-year degree to transition between associate and bachelor degrees, and graduate degree opportunities with UWM.
"There will be a plan for every student that comes over," added Barnhouse.
Reaction
Washington County Executive Josh Schoemann
"This is unfortunate for the 600-plus students who will be forced to rethink their higher education plans.
"The Washington County Higher Education Task Force I created in 2022 foresaw the impending closures of multiple UW two-year campuses and developed a plan for revisioning higher education in our community and to resuscitate the real principles of the Wisconsin Idea.
"Our students deserve higher education that works for them. It is beyond time for revisioning higher education for all of Wisconsin."