Dear Faculty, Staff and Students,
UW System has announced that, due to its low enrollment, it is asking UW-Platteville to repurpose its Richland branch campus. Planning is underway to help transition the approximately 60 students there to UW-Platteville’s Baraboo or main campus or any other UW System campus.
I realize this news may be of concern to you. Please know that this action is not linked to other campuses and that we support and continue to invest in our UW-Milwaukee branch campuses. Our Waukesha and Washington County campuses have much more robust enrollments. We are investing in them because they provide valuable services in these communities and are important in our efforts to provide educational opportunities across the southeast Wisconsin region.
Some examples of our branch campus investments include:
- Adding four-year programs at UWM at Waukesha. We launched a bachelor’s in nursing last year, and a bachelor’s in psychology will be available beginning in Fall 2023. Discussions about adding business and engineering continue.
- Expanding our dual enrollment efforts with the Early College Academy at Washington County, which lets high school juniors and seniors earn up to nine university credits per semester. This model will expand to the Waukesha campus next fall.
- Expanding the first-year bridge program that serves students from the Milwaukee campus but is taught by College of General Studies faculty.
- A pre-engineering program at the Milwaukee campus also is supported by College of General Studies faculty. It is expected to grow from 75 to 100 students in fall 2023.
- Student and office areas were remodeled at the Waukesha campus, and several classrooms have been renovated at the Washington County campus. These projects provide welcoming and modern spaces for our students and those who serve them.
Our outreach will continue, and we look forward to bolstering our branch campus enrollments by working closely with community partners, businesses, and elected officials. The access and opportunities that our branch campuses provide are vital pathways for affordable education, transfer opportunities, and new degree offerings for our students on those campuses.
Best regards,
Mark A. Mone, PhD
Chancellor