UW- Green Bay Marinette is one of three branch campuses of the UWGB system. PC: Fox 11 Online
GREEN BAY, WI (WTAQ-WLUK) – UW-Oshkosh Fond du Lac will end in-person learning by June 30, 2024.
The Fond du Lac campus is one of three campuses that are shifting, or have already done so, to virtual learning. The others are UW-Milwaukee Washington County and UW-Platteville Richland County.
That leaves 10 other, two-year branch campuses including UW Green Bay Marinette, Manitowoc, and Sheboygan campuses.
UW President Jay Rothman says he’s asking chancellors in the UW system, who oversee branch campuses, to start meeting with stakeholders in those communities on how best to move forward with those locations.
According to Rothman, “What I think the market is telling us is the current model is not working. We’ve seen basically across the line, not each institution, but almost across the line a decline over the last ten years in enrollment and that’s telling us we’re not meeting the consumer’s needs, we’re not meeting the needs of our students. So the question will be, what changes to we need to make in order to do that.”
UWGB Chancellor Michael Alexander says his team is constantly looking at what is and isn’t working at Green Bay’s three branch campuses in Mariette, Manitowoc, and Sheboygan.
Alexander touting the unique experiences and opportunities for students at those schools, factors that will play into the future of the campuses.
He said, “Manitowoc, if you look at enrollment is the only former UW college that has grown since the merger. We’re really proud of that. That’s because of our Rising Phoenix program. Sheboygan is drawing students in very different ways. We have engineering there now, four year engineering, mechanical engineering that’s become very popular. Business, psychology four years degrees, really leaning into those four year degrees to help the business community in Sheboygan.
The Marinette campus, the smallest of the branches in the UWGB system, catering to a different demographic.
“I think it’s really really important that we continue to be a leader in making sure we are serving rural Wisconsin. And so we have to think about what that means in Marinette and continue to make the kind of decisions we can make that help make sure that we have a presence up there that we’re able to define what success is, along with the Marinette community,” added Alexander.
President Rothman has asked the chancellors of the branch campuses to develop clear plans on how to move forward with these locations by the Spring of 2024.
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