The University of Wisconsin-Stevens Point is relocating its Wausau campus to the local technical college in an attempt to stave off closure.
It’s a new approach to a problem that has plagued several other UW institutions. Dogged by dwindling student enrollment and financial pressures, universities have struggled to find ways for their two-year branch campuses to remain financially viable. Five of the 13 branch campuses have closed in recent years. A sixth ended in-person classes.
The new model moves UW-Stevens Point Wausau to Northcentral Technical College beginning next fall. The technical college’s main campus is about two miles from UW-Stevens Point Wausau.
The schools will offer their own courses, mantain separate advising and financial aid services, and pay their own employees. But by sharing the same space, with signs advertising both schools, UW-Stevens Point will operate more in tandem with the technical college than in competition with it. It will retain a few of its associate degree programs but shift its focus to bachelor’s and master’s degree programming.
“We were competing with the technical colleges to capture associate degrees,” UW-Stevens Point Provost La Vonne Cornell-Swanson said of the branch campus model. “That hasn’t been working across the state. But the community still needs us here.”
What is a branch campus?
Formerly called UW-Marathon County, the Wausau campus was part of the UW Colleges. Those 13 institutions were intended to operate as affordable two-year campuses for students to pursue associate’s degrees close to home before transferring to a four-year university.
But about a decade ago, the UW Colleges began seeing a steep drop in students due to a decline in the number of Wisconsin high school students for campuses to recruit.
In 2018, the branch campuses were placed under the oversight of four-year UW institutions in an attempt to keep them open. Since then, five — UW-Platteville Richland, UW-Milwaukee at Washington County, UW-Milwaukee at Waukesha, UW-Oshkosh Fond du Lac and UW-Oshkosh Fox Cities have closed. A sixth, UW-Green Bay Marinette, has ended in-person classes.
Universities of Wisconsin President Jay Rothman told state lawmakers the remaining branch campuses would stay open if his request for an $855 million budget increase came through. The budget passed this summer included a $256 million increase over the next two years.
How will UW-Stevens Point and Northcentral Technical College share a campus?
Enrollment at UW-Stevens Point Wausau declined from more than 800 students in 2018 to 229 this fall. Yet fixed costs remain. The university pays about $860,000 annually in facilities and maintenance costs for the Wausau campus.
Costs will signficantly drop for UW-Stevens Point by sharing space. Northcentral Technical College President Jeannie Worden said annual rent would begin at $30,000.
Rent may change as enrollment patterns shift. Northcentral currently has about 10,000 students enrolled in associate degree, technical diploma or technical certificate programs.
Like other technical colleges, Northcentral 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.
UW-Stevens Point will remain responsible for maintaining the existing Wausau campus through December 2026.
Marathon County owns the UW-Stevens Wausau campus and will decide what to do with the facilities and land. Some buildings, such as the fieldhouse, may be used by the school’s intramural sports teams. County officials expressed support for the co-location plan.
Beyond sharing physical space, co-location model could improve transfer pathways
Nationally, only one-third of students who started at community colleges transferred to four-year institutions, and fewer than half of those students earned a bachelor’s degree in six years, according to a 2024 report by several education research organizations.
By having Northcentral Technical and UW-Stevents Point share a physical space, school leaders hope to strengthen transfer opportunities.
“I really hope it’s a model for across the state,” Worden said. “What we’ve heard from students loud and clear is ‘I can’t leave the community to get my bachelor’s degree.'”
UW-Stevens Point already offers an MBA program students can start and finish on the Wausau campus. Bachelor’s degree programs are also in the works, though Cornell-Swanson cautioned some programs may have to be completed at the main campus or require some online classes.
UW-Stevents Point faculty will keep their jobs. Some staff positions will be cut, though Cornell-Swanson didn’t have any numbers to share.
What is enrollment at the remaining UW branch campuses?
Of the six other branch campuses that remain open, the latest enrollment figures offer a mixed picture.
UW-Whitewater Rock County, UW-Green Bay Sheboygan and UW-Green Bay Manitowoc reported enrollment increases from the previous year. The Manitowoc campus has actually doubled its enrollment since the 2018 merger.
UW-Platteville Baraboo/Sauk County UW-Eau Claire Barron County, UW-Stevens Point Marshfield have reported enrollment declines.
Kelly Meyerhofer has covered higher education in Wisconsin since 2018. Contact her at kmeyerhofer@gannett.com or 414-223-5168. Follow her on X (Twitter) at @KellyMeyerhofer.