UW-Milwaukee closing Waukesha campus, citing enrollment, financial pressures

The University of Wisconsin-Milwaukee will close its Waukesha campus at the end of the spring 2025 semester, eliminating an educational option that has been around since 1966.

The closure announced Monday also raises alarm about the viability of the remaining UW branch campuses, all but one of which reported lower enrollment than Waukesha last fall. Four of the 13 branch campuses have already closed or are moving to an online model at the end of this school year.

This spring, 672 students enrolled at the Waukesha campus. In 2018, when UW-Milwaukee absorbed oversight of the campus as part of a UW System-wide restructuring, enrollment topped nearly 1,800.

“As student demands change, universities must change," UW-Milwaukee Chancellor Mark Mone said.

Mone said there simply weren't enough students to sustain a two-year campus in Waukesha. That's especially true since Waukesha County Technical College, which has a campus about three miles away, started offering associate degrees in 2023.

"Although we had truly hoped and believed that we would be able to continue long-term operations at the Waukesha campus, the data and financial realities do not allow for this," he wrote in an email to the campus community.

More than 100 employees affected by UW-Waukesha closure

The closure will affect more than 100 employees, including tenured faculty. Some of the faculty work at UWM's other branch campus in West Bend and were hoping to teach at Waukesha after UWM announced last fall the Washington County campus would close at the end of this school year.

Together, the two campuses cost UWM about $11 million this year to operate.

Waukesha County Technical College may hire some of the UWM employees as enrollment grows, though President Richard Barnhouse said it was too early to estimate how many people he could hire.

The technical college's enrollment has trended slightly downward over the past eight years, especially during the pandemic, though it hasn't experienced anywhere near the drop of UWM Waukesha.

Like other technical colleges, WCTC receives local property taxes in addition to tuition revenue and state funding. The state Technical College System is one of the best-funded in the country, according to a report by the nonpartisan Wisconsin Policy Forum last year.

Meanwhile, the UW System ranked in the bottom 10 states for per-pupil funding.

Waukesha County Technical College to create a university center

Students expressed shock over the decision and relief the announcement came more than a year before the doors would close.

Part-time student Melanie Reyes was drawn to the campus for its close commute and cost. Her adviser recently said she had a year and a half to go to earn her associate degree. She worries about whether failing a class or two could hold her back from completing her degree before the doors close.

"The pressure's definitely there now," she said.

Will Florczak had hoped to pursue a bachelor's degree at the two-year campus, which UWM had recently added in hopes of stemming the enrollment decline. Now he's looking to transfer to a four-year school.

"It's unfortunate it's come to this but it is what it is," he said. "I do notice it feels kind of empty some days."

The technical college will develop a UWM University Center for students seeking a four-year degree to get help transferring to UWM.

"We’re going to have a (transition) plan for every student," Mone said.

Waukesha County to decide what to do with campus property

Waukesha County Executive Paul Farrow said the closure was "best for Waukesha County." Since he took office in 2015, he said county taxpayers put $10 million into the maintenance of the campus buildings.

A newly assembled task force will study what to do with the property over the next year, Farrow said. He's open to the county continuing to own the land, renting or selling it. It could remain as an educational institution, or shift to a residential or commercial purpose.

Rep. Adam Neylon, R-Pewaukee, whose district includes the campus, said the closure was a loss for Waukesha County.

"I'm thankful we have a great asset like WCTC in the community that may provide an opportunity to soften the blow," he said.

Sen. Chris Kapenga, R-Delafield, whose district also includes the campus, did not immediately return a request for comment Monday.

UW branch campuses up against demographic forces, budget constraints

The UW System includes 13 four-year universities where students earn bachelor's degrees. There were also 13 UW branch campuses, which for decades served as a pathway for students to start their college degree at a smaller, more affordable campus before transferring to a four-year.

The branch campuses have struggled over the past decade to fill students' seats. Tuition was frozen for 15 years. A state budget cut in 2015 led to a gutting of branch campus staff and a "regionalization" strategy that put one dean in charge of multiple campuses.

Shifting demographics also played a role in these campuses' demise. There are fewer students graduating from Wisconsin high schools, and a smaller share of them are choosing to pursue a college degree. Most concerning, college leaders said, is a growing percentage of the public questioning the value of a college degree.

There's competition, too: Waukesha and many other branch campuses dotted across the state have technical colleges nearby.

When fewer students enroll, it puts pressure on universities because revenues fall, but costs almost never do.

Mone said the cost of operating the Waukesha campus on a per-student basis was comparable to the main campus. But tuition was about half that.

"That puts us in a very untenable, very difficult situation," he said.

2018 merger didn't work, faculty say

In a 2018 Hail Mary, the UW System restructured the branch campuses under the oversight of four-years. The thinking at the time was the larger campuses would subsidize the branches and keep them afloat.

Some UWM branch campus faculty said UWM did little to help them in the wake of the restructuring.

Professors said the student recruitment process prioritized the main campus − where students pay a more expensive tuition rate − at the expense of the branches, hastening enrollment declines. They also said the merger actually complicated the transfer process because classes were numbered and coded differently than what was offered in the same discipline at the main campus.

Mone disputed many of the professors' critiques. He pointed to bachelor's degree options created at the branch campuses and some upgraded facilities as ways in which UWM invested in its Waukesha and Washington County campuses.

Contact Kelly Meyerhofer at kmeyerhofer@gannett.com. Follow her on Twitter at@KellyMeyerhofer.

This article originally appeared on Milwaukee Journal Sentinel: UW-Milwaukee at Waukesha to close after spring 2025 semester