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University of Wisconsin Colleges

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University of Wisconsin–Colleges
TypePublic university system
Active1971–June 30, 2018
Parent institution
University of Wisconsin System
AccreditationHLC
ChancellorCathy A. Sandeen
Academic staff
531
Administrative staff
61
Total staff
362
Students11,608
Location, ,
United States
Websitewww.wisc.edu/uwc

The University of Wisconsin Colleges was a unit of the University of Wisconsin System composed of 13 local two-year campuses and one online campus. These campuses offered a liberal arts, transfer-parallel curriculum. The unit was established in 1971 and was dissolved on June 30, 2018.

The campuses were then made affiliates of some of the four-year campuses of the University of Wisconsin System, although many of them have since been closed or are in the process of closing.[1]

History

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In 1940, the University of Wisconsin-Extension began operating freshman-sophomore centers across the state. After World War II, the UW Board of Regents encouraged counties and municipalities to donate land for this purpose, mainly to serve the influx of students enrolling after the war. After the 1971 merger of the University of Wisconsin System with the Wisconsin State Universities System to form the present-day UW System, the freshman-sophomore centers became a separate institution of the newly created system known as the University of Wisconsin Centers.[2] The centers became known as University of Wisconsin Colleges in 1997.

In 2005, the Board of Regents partially reunited UW Colleges with UW-Extension. Although the two units shared a single administration, they had separate provosts and retained separate identities.

The last chancellor of both UW Colleges and UW-Extension was Cathy Sandeen.

Restructuring

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Due to years of declining enrollment, the UW Board of Regents voted on November 9, 2017 to proceed with a proposal that merged the physical University of Wisconsin Colleges campuses with seven of the four-year campuses of the University of Wisconsin System.[3][4] The merger created regional clusters in which the two-year universities renamed and became branches of the comprehensive four-year campuses. It would allow the system to maintain a higher education presence throughout the state's counties where college-aged students had dropped because of declining birthrates.[5] The resulting merger also allowed students to freely transfer from a two-year campus to any four-year institution within the university system.

Post-restructuring closures

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Following the spring 2023 semester, the University of Wisconsin-Platteville Richland became the first branch campus to close following the restructuring, citing enrollment decline.[6]

In October 2023, UW System President Jay Rothman recommended that the branch campuses be eventually phased out as associate-granting institutions in favor of coordinating with the Wisconsin Technical College System so students can pursue liberal arts coursework there. For each branch campus in question that continues to operate afterwards, it was suggested that they sell some of their facilities and pivot to primarily providing dual enrollment opportunities for high school students and non-credit corporate training opportunities for local employers.[7]

Campuses

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Map
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Maps: terms of use
100km
62miles
Waukesha
13
Waukesha
Washington County
12
Washington County
Sheboygan
11
Sheboygan
Rock County
10
Rock County
Richland
9
Richland
Marshfield/Wood County
8
Marshfield/Wood County
Marinette
7
Marinette
Marathon County
6
Marathon County
Manitowoc
5
Manitowoc
Fox Valley
4
Fox Valley
Fond du Lac
3
Fond Du Lac
Barron County
2
Barron County
Baraboo/Sauk County
1
Baraboo/Sauk County

As of 2018, the campuses were the following: [8]

An associate degree could be earned at any of the campuses, including the online campus. As of 2013, six of the campuses offered a Bachelor of Applied Arts and Sciences degree. The UW Colleges were also frequently used as a stepping stone in order to transfer to another institution in the University of Wisconsin System. This was facilitated by the "Guaranteed Transfer Program" whereby a student was guaranteed admission as a junior to another institution if certain requirements are met.

See also

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References

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  1. ^ Gretzinger, Erin. "Wisconsin Is Closing Another 2-Year Campus but Hopes It's Found a Solution to Its Biggest Challenges". The Chronicle of Higher Education. Retrieved 28 April 2024.
  2. ^ "Historical Timeline: University of Wisconsin–Madison". www.wisc.edu. Retrieved 2022-11-12.
  3. ^ "UW Regents Approve Merging System Campuses". Wisconsin Public Radio. November 9, 2017. Retrieved November 24, 2017.
  4. ^ Herzog, Karen. "UW campus mergers: 5 things you need to know about the system's transformation". Journal Sentinel. Retrieved 2022-11-12.
  5. ^ Herzog, Karen. "Merger would keep UW System's two-year campuses afloat despite steep enrollment losses". Journal Sentinel. Retrieved 2022-11-12.
  6. ^ Kremer, Rich (November 22, 2022). "In-person classes ended at UW-Platteville Richland campus July 1". Wisconsin Public Radio. Retrieved November 22, 2022.
  7. ^ Beran, Liam (7 June 2024). "UW System internal briefing recommends downsizing remaining branch campuses". Isthmus | Madison, Wisconsin. Retrieved 28 July 2024.
  8. ^ "UW Branch Campuses". University of Wisconsin Colleges. Retrieved December 27, 2018.
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Further reading

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Bower, Jerry. The University of Wisconsin Colleges, 1919-1997: The Wisconsin Idea at Work. New Past P, 2002. 978-0938627555