Information on the Closures of the Waukesha and Washington County Campuses

Update on the CGS Transformation Team  

December 20, 2023

As part of the work of the College of General Studies Transformation Team (CGSTT), UWM is providing regular updates as it works toward closing the Washington County campus by June 30, 2024.  

With the CGSTT work underway, here are three general items:  

  1. The co-chairs, Kathy Dolan and Scott Gronert, have met with all four work groups and asked group co-leads to develop work plans before the winter break. 
  2. Listening sessions were held on all three campuses in December to give faculty and staff a chance to ask questions of the co-chairs and to provide information and feedback on the CGSTT activities. 
  3. The co-chairs will provide written updates, like this one, to CGS faculty and staff every two weeks. 

Work Group Updates

Goal 1: Plan for the end of in-person instruction on the Washington County campus

A Washington County Student Transition Team was formed to focus on student issues as the campus prepares to end in-person instruction. So far, the team has:  

  • Communicated with students at town hall events and through email, explaining the transition options and encouraging students to meet with their advisor.  
  • Planned two transfer fairs at UWM at Washington County for the spring. Students have been offered the option to transition seamlessly (with guaranteed admission) to any other UWM location or the online associate degree program. A one-time “transition scholarship” has been established for students who stay with UWM. 

Other work includes:   

  • Organizing the physical move of people, equipment and other materials from the Washington County facility. 
  • Renegotiating the lease with Washington County.

The CGS Dean’s Office has started the process of building a CGS course schedule for the 2024-25 academic year at Waukesha and in the main campus First-Year Bridge and Pre-engineering programs. CGS Dean Simon Bronner has met with budget and finance staff to review budget considerations and is determining changes in staffing needs for Fiscal Year 2025 considering the closing of the Washington County campus.

Goal 2: Explore the future structure of the College of General Studies (CGS) 

The membership of this work group has been set.   

The group’s co-leads: 

  • Professor Kathleen Dolan (Political Science, Main Campus) 
  • Dean Scott Gronert (Letters and Science, Chemistry, Main Campus) 
  • Associate Professor Lisa Hager (English and Gender, Sexuality, and Women’s Studies, Waukesha)

Group members:

  • Associate Professor Carl Gahala (Business, Washington County)  
  • Teaching Professor Matt Knachel (Philosophy, Main Campus) 
  • Teaching Faculty Matthew Madsen (Mathematics, Washington County) 
  • Professor Lindsay McHenry (Geosciences, Main Campus) 
  • Associate Professor Tim O’Brien (Sociology, Main Campus) 
  • Associate Professor Teresa Schueller (Biology, Waukesha)

The work group had its first meeting last week and will be gathering and sharing information to familiarize all members with CGS budgetary, curricular and administrative issues.

Goal 3: Plan future programming, particularly at the Waukesha Campus

The group’s early work has focused on developing a plan to conduct a preliminary analysis of the opportunities for future programming.  

This will include:  

  • Surveys of prospective, current and former students of the Waukesha campus. The group will also examine the results of a similar survey conducted by UWM’s Washington County Work Group.  
  • Surveys of high school counselors in Waukesha, Washington County and surrounding communities.  
  • Examination of Integrated Postsecondary Education Data System (IPEDS) data for Waukesha County Technical College and Moraine Park Technical College.  
  • Access Lightcast to examine labor market needs in Waukesha and surrounding communities. 

Goal 4: Develop plans for implementing any future decisions 

As the implementation team, some of this group’s tasks will require waiting for action from the other groups. To prepare, the group has started preliminary work: 

  • Begin a study of existing UWM at Waukesha space for growth of potential bachelor’s programs.  
  • Collect existing career and degree path information from CGS advisors and examine how to build pathways for other potential degree programs.
  • Begin a preliminary investigation of necessary approvals for a variety of degree options, including bachelor’s completion programs and collaborations with other institutions.  
  • Examine a number of curricular issues, including aligning associate and bachelor’s degree general education requirements; achieving a unified course catalog; identifying academic approval and accreditation requirements for any new programs. 
  • Explore the status of and needs for student services at Waukesha. 

After the new year, we will provide biweekly written updates to CGS employees through the end of the semester. This CGS webpage  will remain the source of updated information, including frequently asked questions and upcoming meeting dates.