PHOTO: Courtesy of WLUK
(WTAQ-WLUK) — The Universities of Wisconsin is reporting overall enrollment increased for the third straight year, a moment UW President Jay Rothman says is “worth celebrating.”
UW’s fall 2025 enrollment totals show 164,626 students, an increase of 190 students over fall 2024. This is the first time since 2010 that enrollment has increased three years in a row.
This includes a 5.5% increase in Wisconsin resident new freshman enrollment — the largest on record.
“These are the future teachers and engineers and nurses and data scientists and so forth, that will help drive Wisconsin’s economy forward and help the state win the war for talent,” Rothman said.
Rothman credited Direct Admit Wisconsin and the 2025 Wisconsin Tuition Promise, funded through the UWs and Ascendium, for helping drive the enrollment increase. Seven universities participating in Direct Admit showed Wisconsin freshman enrollment gains of more than 9%.
“Direct Admit Wisconsin and the Wisconsin Tuition Promise have opened doors for more students across the state,” said Rothman. “These initiatives are driving broad-based growth that reflects our commitment to serving all Wisconsinites.”
Overall enrollment gains were tempered by a decline of 7.6% in international students. Rothman attributes this decline to uncertainty being seen under the Trump administration.
“[It] really relates to some of the uncertainty right now in terms of what students from what countries can enter the U.S., and then also some of the backlogs in securing visas for students coming in,” Rothman said.
Nine of the 13 UW universities experienced enrollment growth. This includes UW-Green Bay, which saw a 3% rise in enrollment from 2024 and 28% over the last five years.
UW-Oshkosh saw a 4.8% drop in enrollment, but much of that is attributed to the closure of the Fox Cities and Fond du Lac campuses. The Oshkosh campus itself saw a decline of just 0.6%.
“That’s actually better than what the projections were,” UW-Oshkosh Chancellor Manohar Singh said. “Put it in the context of where we have been bleeding for about last eight years. So, this year brings the first time that we have stability.”
While overall enrollment dropped, freshmen went up by 2% and new graduate student enrollment went up 17% at UWO. Singh said the campus wants to continue its focus on increasing grad students. UWO also plans to improve its outreach with area high schools and invest more in student engagement.
“We are going to be supporting our multicultural, our language, our remote student body, so that they come here and they feel that they belong to this place,” Singh said.
The 10th day enrollment figures provide the basis for figures reported to the federal government. Preliminary enrollment estimates released last month suggested an overall decrease of 96 students for fall 2025.
The final 10-day fall 2025 enrollment figures for each university are:
- UW-Eau Claire: 9,487
- UW-Green Bay: 11,519
- UW-La Crosse: 10,584
- UW-Madison: 51,481
- UW-Milwaukee: 22,909
- UW-Oshkosh: 12,191
- UW-Parkside: 3,920
- UW-Platteville: 6,426
- UW-River Falls: 5,377
- UW-Stevens Point: 8,532
- UW-Stout: 7,061
- UW-Superior: 2,872
- UW-Whitewater: 12,267
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