OSHKOSH, WI (WTAQ) – UW Oshkosh is gearing up for much a busier fall semester than last year.
“We are seeing a much bigger increase around the enrollment funnel this fall. For example, applications are up 45% compared to last year,” said Assistant Vice Chancellor for Enrollment Management Aggie Hanni. “[We’re seeing] record numbers this year, already. Admissions are up 107%, while confirmations of students who have declared Oshkosh as their choice institution for fall are up 17%.”
This comes after a year that saw the pandemic causing issues for institutions of higher education, as well as a lot of confusion for enrolled students and potential students alike.
“We did not see a bigger drop from fall to spring retention as compared to what we were already expecting, based on those numbers coming in as well as behaviors of continuing students and how they were affected by COVID,” Hanni told WTAQ News.
Hanni says the university only saw one major COVID spike, which came in September. While they weren’t sure what cases would look like, the way they were handled gave the administration some level of optimism.
“We have this confidence gained from our experience already in the last year, establishing UWO as really one of the leaders in dealing with the pandemic while also allowing students to have that in-person experience,” Hanni said. “We’re basing a lot of our decision on those successes, our current numbers, and the numbers coming in already for this fall.”
That means robust in-person experiences and activities like student organizations and athletic events with fans returning to campus. It also means classes heading back towards typical instruction.
“We are actually planning for an experience where students will be in classes, we will have in-person classes – 80% of our classes are going to be in-person, which is pretty standard for us. And then the rest is going to be online,” Hanni said. “This may be the perfect year to return for those students that dropped out or paused their education last year to come in and have a robust academic experience.”
The school is also increasing capacity for their student orientation this fall, as they’ve already exceeded the capacities that were put in place due to the amount of interest.
It’s not too late to apply for this fall either. You can find a step-by-step guide on how to apply to UW-Oshkosh here.
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