The University of Wisconsin Milwaukee at Waukesha will cease operations after the close of the spring 2025 semester, university officials announced Monday.
The news comes about five months after UWM announced the closure of its Washington County campus in West Bend – its other satellite location. In-person instruction at the West Bend campus is slated to cease on June 20 of this year. Just as with the closing of UWM’s West Bend campus, the pending closure of the Waukesha campus comes in response to a directive from the Universities of Wisconsin – the state arm that directs operations at Wisconsin’s public four-year universities.
The closure will impact more than 100 UWM-Waukesha employees, including tenured faculty, and 672 students.
Formerly a standalone community college known as the University of Wisconsin-Waukesha County, the Waukesha campus became a satellite campus of the UWM in 2018, along with then University of Wisconsin-Washington County. Up until 2017, the system’s 13 two-year colleges at Richland Center, Washington County, Fond du Lac, and elsewhere, were known as the UW Colleges. In 2018 they were merged with nearby four-year UW System schools under an order by then UW System president Ray Cross.
Following that merger, enrollment at UWM-Washington fell from 744 students, where it was in 2018, to 332 students in 2023 – a drop of 55%.
Although it appeared that the Waukesha campus, with its comparably stable enrollment – falling by 6 percent between fall 2023 and spring 2024 – might be spared the same fate as its sister campus to the north, declining enrollment, shifting demographics and budgetary constraints led UWM to re-evaluate the best pathway for delivering higher education in Waukesha County, university officials stated in a news release.
Despite UWM’s efforts to invest in the Waukesha campus, including expanding bachelor’s degree options in nursing, psychology and business, the university was unable to mitigate what it describes as a “10-year loss in associate degree students,” the release states.
Those losses were apparently hastened by Waukesha County Technical College’s ability to offer associate degree programs.
“With expanded associate degree offerings available at WCTC since January 2023, there simply are not enough students to sustain a separate two-year campus in Waukesha,” the release states.
WCTC partnership
To ease the pain of the Waukesha campus closure, UWM and Waukesha County Technical College (WCTC) jointly announced plans Monday to develop the UWM University Center at WCTC. The University Center model is being designed to ensure that students in Waukesha County can obtain an associate degree from WCTC and then continue to pursue a four-year degree with UWM in Milwaukee, the release states.
“UWM’s highest priority is student success,” UWM Chancellor Mark Mone said. “As student demands change, universities must change. The UWM University Center at WCTC allows us to put the student first and ensure a stronger future for UWM.”
UWM and WCTC will work collaboratively to support current and prospective students in identifying options that best meet their goals. In January 2024, UWM announced transfer agreements with four regional technical colleges, including WCTC, that ease the application process for tech school students.
“We are committed to supporting UWM and the Waukesha community through this transition,” said WCTC president Richard Barnhouse. “We look forward to delivering on that commitment and building a new model of high-quality education with UWM. Chancellor Mone is a strong partner and I value his leadership and collaboration on shaping the future of higher education in Wisconsin.”
UWM will support student transitions to WCTC over the next 16 months, according to officials. As enrollment grows at WCTC and the UWM University Center, WCTC will seek to hire UWM employees.
Unexpected
In October Rothman directed chancellors overseeing the UW System’s remaining two-year campuses to determine the best uses for facilities to meet student and community needs. But Angelica Duria, UWM’s director of strategic communications, said at that time that there was no impact expected at UWM’s Waukesha campus.
“The Waukesha campus will remain open and continue to serve students seeking a degree,” Duria said in October.
When asked whether a task force would be established for the UWM’s Waukesha County campus, she said, “no,” noting that a task force enlisted to study Washington County’s fiscal and enrollment woes was done by Washington County itself, not the university.
While enrollment at UWM-Washington County fell 55% in the last five years, enrollment at UWM-Waukesha had remained relatively stable at 715 students in fall 2023.
Layoffs looming
As employees of the UWM-Waukesha prepare for a future without their home campus, officials said Monday that UWM will work closely with all involved to support employee transitions.
“Today’s announcement will also directly impact more than 100 employees at our Waukesha campus,” UWM provost and vice chancellor for academic affairs Andrew Daire said. “We are committed to working with our employees through this transition and identifying every possible opportunity for employment. Our team members at Waukesha are dedicated to educating and supporting students. We make this announcement with a deep understanding of the loss it will create for our colleagues.”
UWM will support employees over the next 16 months to provide additional support and resources, the release states. As enrollment growth allows, UWM and WCTC are committed to working together to employ as many UWM at Waukesha faculty and staff as possible.
Downward spiral
News of UWM-Waukesha’s pending closure comes less than a year after the UW System, recently rebranded as the Universities of Wisconsin, has urged chancellors at the two-year campus’ four-year parent schools to “explore the long-term viability of the branch campuses.”
Universities and colleges across the state and Midwest have continued to struggle with enrollment losses in recent years following birthrate declines in the late 2000s that have shrunk the number of high school graduates seeking college degrees. Last spring, Cardinal Stritch University in Glendale and Fox Point closed after 86 years in operation. Previously UW-Platteville closed the school’s Richland Center campus.
